Choose One of the Above
by BetweenLines55
Summary: Previously a drabble on No Shave November, now becoming just a drop box for Jasico drabbles because this pairing needs all the love it can get. T so far. Requests open! Chapters 14 and 22 are the only M rated ones so far.
1. No Shave November

**Quick little drabble thing. I really like Jasico, and there's not too many fics about them, which is sad. **

"I'm not letting you into this bed if you don't fucking shave that monstrosity. Either you shave it or you're sleeping on the couch until December first."

"Awe, c'mon, Nico, I think it makes me look rugged."

"It makes you look like a mountain man."

The _monstrosity_ on Jason's face was the son of Jupiter's attempt at No-Shave November, only to it's scruffy stage, but coming in nicely, on it's way to a full beard. It was golden fuzz, sparsely covering the scar just above his lip. It wasn't horrible, Nico knew. Jason pulled it off surprisingly well, but for gods' sakes, Nico was tired of beard burn kisses and stubble digging into his shoulder.

"Yeah, rugged." Jason insisted, rubbing his hand over his cheek. That was another thing Nico had noticed about the beard campaign: everyone wanted to _touch_. The Aphrodite girls and boys would come up and giggle stupidly as they brushed their fingers over it. Travis and Conner, who Nico usually didn't mind, liked to rub their faces against Jason's, just because they knew it pissed Nico the fuck off. And then Percy, the asshole, coming by daily to compare progress. No, no one was allowed to touch. No one but Nico.

And now he couldn't, because kissing someone's beardy cheek was really fucking gross.

"It's not like you shave every single day either, babe," Jason said, crossing his arms, like he had a chance of winning this. Nico rolled his eyes, "But I don't give you beard burn when we make out, do I? And I don't rub my scratchy cheeks all over my boyfriend's shoulders when we spoon, either."

Jason sighed, head dropped to his chest in defeat. "Awe, Nico...you're such a manipulative little bastard, you know?" Yeah, Nico knew that, he took pride it in. Cracking a smile, the son of Hades grabbed Jason by the front of his t-shirt and pulled his down for a quick, teasing little peck on the lips.

"Mm, you like it." Nico grinned, cat like, as he released his hold on the man.

"I do." Jason said, smiling again. Well, the beard did frame his smile nicely, but it still had to go. Beard burn below the belt was a specific horror no one ever needed to experience in their life.

"Now," Nico continued, scooting back in the bed so he was against the headboard, "go and shave, and when you return, you better not have a shirt on. Or anything else, for that matter." He laughed to himself as Jason's bright blue eyes lit up and he practically tripped himself, not being able to get to the bathroom fast enough. It was nice to know that no matter the circumstances, using sex as a bargaining chip was always a card up the half-Italian's sleeve.

**Reviews are love. I'm taking requests.**


	2. Valor

**So yeah, this became a multi-chapter thing. Whoops. **

**This was requested by Juliakaze26, "…how about Jason has an accident on a quest or something and Nico takes care of him..." Jason has a sort of accident, but it's really more on a quest for maintaining Nico's pride. Hope you like it!**

Jason knew it was kind of pathetic that the mortal had managed to land a blow on him at all. For the love of Jupiter, he was 6'1" and 204 pounds of muscle, with a dozen plus years of military training under his belt. Fat lot of good it had done him to be punched in the face by some homophobic noob that dare to say anything about Nico.

"So, was the quest for maintaining my valor really worth getting punched in the face?" Nico asked. Shortly after Jason had gotten decked, they had retired to home base (read: _their lofty Seattle apartment_) so Nico could take care of the quickly darkening bruise blossoming on the left side of Jason's face.

Jason pulled Nico closer so the younger man was settled between Jason's legs as the blond sat in one of their kitchen chairs. One of the nice things to come from this was the complete and undivided attention his boyfriend was giving him, gently wiping the bruise with a warm washcloth and giving Jason a very nice view of olive toned collarbone showing out from under Nico's black and gray flannel. "Definitely," Jason said, rubbing circles with his thumbs into Nico's hip bones, "Anyone who calls you that f-word is gonna have to answer to me."

"My hero," Nico said, a wry smile on his face. With one more swipe of the cloth on Jason's face, Nico pulled back. "You should probably ice that."

"Mm, later." Jason said, pulling Nico back to him, the half-Italian falling awkwardly into Jason's lap. The older blond pressed his face into Nico's neck, smelling the rich scent of Nico's aftershave. "You smell good, want cuddles," Jason insisted as Nico squirmed in his arms.

"If you don't ice your fucking face you're gonna be sore and complain all day tomorrow." Nico said gruffly, still reaching to run his hands through Jason's hair. He sighed as the Roman snuck a hand up his shirt, simply resting it on Nico's abdominals, content to just touch. "Indulge me, baby," Jason said into Nico's neck, knowing perfectly well of Nico's weakness for pet-names. There was a sigh from above as Nico hesitated to give in.

Wary, Nico muttered, "Then go lie down on the couch. I think we still have some of the bruise salve in the cupboard from Camp Half-Blood."

Jason perked up, pressing a few soft kisses to Nico's face, "Cuddle after?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, _Ragazzo D'oro_, cuddle after."

After all, who was Nico to deny his knight in shining armor?

**Cute boyfriends being cute. Requests are open!**

**Translation: **

**Ragazzo D'oro – Should mean "Golden Boy" in Italian but I could be wrong. Correct me if I am, please.**


	3. Interruptions

**Wow, two updates in one day. For PrincessoftheMoon87, you wanted chicken salad. You got chicken salad. **

"Nico, I, mm, think someone, mm babe, just knocked on the door." Jason was sprawled on the couch with the son of Hades on top of him, situated between his legs. Nico had one hand threaded through Jason's hair and the other starting to wander down to the taller of the two's crotch.

"They'll get the idea if we don't answer." Nico said, rocking his sweatpants-clad hips forward against Jason's. Jason shifted, meeting Nico in turn, bring his boyfriend closer and snaking a hand up the back of his t-shirt.

"Then in that case," Jason said, kissing Nico between words, "I think we should take this to the bedroom."

"Hnn, yeah, I think—"

The doorbell rang. It shocked Nico into banging his teeth against Jason's lip with a painful thump. For a few disoriented moments, they were a tangled mess of limbs. Jason managed to narrowly avoid being kneed in the crotch by the man on top of him. As soon as Nico had righted himself, he took off his shirt. "Don't care, let's just keep going."

Who was Jason to argue with that?

He hiked Nico up into his arms, navigating their apartment with ease even with this line of sight obscured by Nico. "Fuck, you're beautiful," Jason whispered into Nico's skin. Nico hummed in response, dragging Jason down on top of him as he was placed on the bed. "We need to do this more often." Nico said, as he wrapped his legs around Jason's waist. The son of Jupiter agreed, running his fingers over the smooth, olive expanse of Nico's chest. "Agreed." Jason said. He kissed and nipped down Nico's neck, hooking his thumbs in the waistband of Nico's sweatpants. He was going to pull them down when—

"Hey guys you weren't answering the door so I let myself in with that key you gave me a couple months ba—holy shit!"

Perseus fucking "Cockblock" Jackson was standing in the doorway of their bedroom (gods be damned, Jason had forgotten to close it) with a startled expression on his face and a Tupperware container under his arm. Nico had an almost feral expression on his face, "You motherfucker, give me one reason not to run you through right now."

If Jason had heard correctly, Percy had made a sound that might have been, "Eep."

"Ten seconds, Jackson." Nico growled.

Percy audibly swallowed and shifted his feet. It was funny, almost; the biggest, baddest hero of Olympus reduced to this in the face of a pissed-off son of Hades. "Ok so Hazel came over today and she and Annabeth were cooking and they had apparently made like way to much chicken salad and we didn't eat a whole lot of it and so they sent me to give some to you and you weren't answering the door so I figured you were out so I was just planning on letting myself in and putting it in your fridge or something but I heard noises and so...yeah."

"You're a fucking idiot." Nico said. He sighed through his nose before waving his hand at the door of their bedroom. "Leave now, put the chicken salad in the fridge and we won't speak of this again."

Percy nodded hastily. "Um. You two have fun. Don't forget a condom." Swiftly, he pulled the bedroom door shut. Jason could here him gracelessly put the chicken salad in the fridge and leave their apartment.

"Don't think I'm done with you yet, Grace," Nico said, sly smile back in place as though they hadn't been interrupted by Percy Jackson bearing chicken salad. Jason smirked (who was he to argue with that?) and allowed himself to be pulled back down.

**Reviews are love. Requests are open!**


	4. Inaccuracies

**This was requested by Haybarry87; she wanted cute Jasico with cuddling and movie watching. How come whenever I write Jasico they always end up almost having sex? **

With Nico being an 80-something-year-old who had been in limbo for the past 70 years and Jason as a 19-year-old who had spent most of his childhood practicing his sword fighting and war strategies, it wasn't a huge surprise that neither of them had a great knowledge of Disney movies. Percy, who had had a "normal as you could get when being a demigod" childhood, had found great fault in this fact and promptly lent his cousins his vast collection of animated Disney films.

Said films were now stacked in an impressive pile at the foot of Nico's bed in the Hades cabin at Camp Half-Blood. The black armoire in Nico's room had been opened to reveal a flat screen TV and a DVD player. Soon, they'd been equipped to watch movies with popcorn, comfy pajama pants, and each other.

Jason entered his boyfriend's bedroom with a bowl of hot popcorn and two cans of Coke, setting the snacks down on the bedside table. Nico was sprawled on the bed, lying on his stomach and idly kicking his legs as he read the backs of a couple of the DVD's. His hair, having gotten so long, was tied back in a short ponytail, the pieces that didn't quite make it framing his face nicely. "So," Nico began, "Jackson suggested we start with Hercules to make fun of its incredible inaccuracies."

The Roman collapsed on the bed next to Nico, throwing an arm over the smaller boy's torso and nuzzling his face into Nico's My Chemical Romance t-shirt. "Whatever works for you." A hand with long, lean fingers came down to run through Jason's hair. Any more pampering and Jason could fall asleep, wrapped around Nico.

"All right then, Goldilocks. Gonna get up so I can put the movie on?"

Or maybe not.

Groaning, Jason rolled onto his back so Nico could get up. The half-Italian chuckled before pressing a kiss on Jason's forehead. "Get all set up, I'll be right there."

The sheets on Nico's bed were soft, good for cuddling and movie watching, Jason had decided as he slipped under the dark duvet and propped himself up with pillows. He watched Nico turn the DVD player on and slip the disk into the slot, the TV coming alive with the sound of movie previews. Nico grabbed the remote and returned to the bed.

Slipping in under the covers as Jason had done moments before, Nico placed himself in the safe haven of Jason's warm embrace. The smaller boy was comfortably settled between the other's legs, a tanned, tattooed arm coming to rest across Nico's stomach and the other placing the popcorn at a reasonable distance. Jason leaned down to pepper a few, lazy kisses on Nico's neck and what he could reach of his collarbone. Although Jason couldn't see his face and Nico had only said, "Turn off the light, you sap," the son of Jupiter knew Nico was smiling. (And maybe blushing, just a little.)

Now in the relative dark, Nico skipped the rest of the previews, which neither of them had really been paying attention to anyways to the main menu. Brightly colored, animated characters flashed on the screen as Nico selected the "play" option.

Jason's hands snaked under Nico's shirt and rested on the cool skin, tracing patterns as the movie and it's theatrical music began.

"_Long ago, in the faraway land of Ancient Greece…_"

Nico threaded his fingers through Jason's and grabbed a handful of popcorn.

And hour and a half later, Jason and Nico stared dumbfounded at the television. "I don't know whether to laugh or cry." Jason said.

"Fucking blue hair."

"I mean, they totally botched the story, _not that I blame them or anything_, but didn't Herc end up going crazy and killing his whole family? And what was up with the five muses, seriously? Though, now that I think about it, I liked Danny—"

"_My father had blue hair, _Jason." Nico said, eyes wide as the credits continued to play. Quickly and very nimbly, Nico turned around to straddle Jason's lap. "We're having sex right now or I swear to the gods I think I might throw that fucking DVD into the fucking Sound."

Jason quickly lost his shirt as the soundtrack from the main menu picked up.

"_...When he smiled the girls went wild with 'Ooo's' and 'Aah's"..."_

**Reviews are love, requests are open!**


	5. Doesn't Mean he has to Like it

**I believe this was a request from just a fangirl writter who wanted some Jealous!Jason. Here ya go.**

Jason has not yet said anything.

He's planning to, soon, before Percy puts his hands on Nico's sides (why why why did Nico have to take his shirt off, all lean muscle and Mediterranean skin and gods-be-damned get it together, Grace) or pulls that "let me _demonstrate_ this move while I totally don't come onto you" thing. Jason's head will most likely explode if Percy tries that.

Truthfully though, Jason wanting to punch Percy in the neck aside, he doesn't blame the two for sparring. Their fighting techniques are similar and Nico is very talented and probably one of the only people at Camp Half Blood who can keep up with the son of Poseidon and their rivalry is friendly enough without being truly life threatening.

But that doesn't mean Jason has to like it.

Percy is too close for comfort, smiling too widely and touches lingering too much. It's stupid, the son of Jupiter knows, to be jealous of Percy, because Percy is incredibly obtuse and probably doesn't even realize what he's doing.

But that doesn't mean Jason has to like it.

They've taken a quick water break now, Jason can see from where he's crouched in the shadows of the sword arena (he feels like Nico, skulking about like this), Percy standing far too close to Nico and patting him far too jovially on the back. Nico leans his head up, an admiring look on his face, those bright brown eyes lit up like they usually do for Jason, and _smiles_ at Percy.

Nico, during the rare times he does smile, lights up the whole room. Jason cherishes these smiles that Nico grants him, and here Percy is, smiling back like it's no big fucking deal.

Jason's about to lose it, he knows. The air has started to crackle around him; he's starting to throw sparks as he clenches and unclenches his fists. He can only imagine how high his blood pressure is spiking right now; it's probably at a worrying level. It would probably be best if he left his hideout spot for the time being lest he do something that he'll regret.

Like wring Perseus "the Ultimate Savoir of Olympus" Jackson's neck, for example.

They're back at it again, Percy also sans shirt now, and their sparring is almost like a dance between two unlikely partners. It seems as though Nico is gaining the upper hand but Percy reaches around the son of Hades and flips the smaller boy neatly onto his back. Seeing as Percy is now practically straddling his boyfriend, Jason isn't really surprised when the crash of thunder echoes from overhead and a bolt of lightning hits dangerously close to Percy's leg.

The son of Jupiter takes a sick sort of satisfaction from the speed of which Percy rolls off of Nico. The half-Italian, of course, has found him out. Dark eyes have pinned Jason in his spot and the blond is stuck even faster than before. Luckily, Nico keeps his mouth shut, raises an elegant eyebrow and Jason knows his secret is safe until Nico can use it for suitable blackmail material.

"I think we should call it a day, don't you think, Jackson?" Nico says as he retrieves his shirt from where he had thrown it earlier.

Percy shrugs and copies what Nico does, "Probably. Maybe we can find Jason and ask what's up with all this freaky lighting."

Nico shoots him one fleeting look as he steers Percy out of the arena, "Maybe we can."

That night, at the bonfire, after putting Percy's mind at ease with the promise that he'll look into the "freaking lightning", Jason has his arms around Nico and is quite sure he won't be letting go for some time. Nico, for his part, is taking the whole thing in stride.

"You're cute." Nico says.

That's usually Jason's line, when Nico has bedhead and drooping eyelids during their quiet mornings together.

"Am I?" Jason mutters.

"Yeah, when you're jealous. 'S cute."

"Shut up."

Nico laughs, smiles and kisses him as Will Solace tries to get the Ares Cabin to sing in a round.

It might be true, but that doesn't mean Jason has to like it.

**Reviews are love, requests are open!**


	6. A Dream is a Wish your Heart Makes

**This was requested by metheperson7. They wanted "Nico has a bad dream on the Argo II and Jason comforts him, after the Cupid incident." I hope you like it!**

Sometimes, Nico couldn't sleep.

Most of the time, Nico couldn't sleep.

When he closed his eyes the dark expanses of Tartarus flashed across his vision; he felt like he was choking. Dying. Starving to death and getting the life squeezed out of him. When he was asleep he felt dead, dying. Sleep was cold, impersonal, and so very _human_.

He felt alive when he was awake; like Thanatos couldn't come to him in his sleep and whisk him away. The irony in a child of the Underworld being afraid of the afterlife had always been a bitter retribution. The caffeinated beverage in front of Nico was the only thing keeping him awake most nights and the nightmares away.

The ship felt eerie during the witch's hour. The hull creaked softly as the ship split waves on the cool Mediterranean Sea. Even with the caffeine in his system, the rhythm of the ship all around him was a lullaby that was threatening to make Nico's dyes droop a little farther and his head rest in his arms.

He pinched himself to keep Morpheus away.

A breeze blew into the kitchen when the door was opened. Jason Grace, the son of Jupiter, stood in the threshold, his sword strapped to his side. The sudden intruder on his quiet made the son of Hades sit up a little straighter.

Jason Grace was an anomaly that Nico had yet to figure out. He was becoming more and more of a Greek and slowly leaving his Roman roots behind him. Of course, he also seemed to generally care for Nico's well being, too. More and more nowadays after the whole Cupid Incident.

And why did Jason Grace have to be so damn attractive?

Jason, for some reason unknown to Nico, didn't skirt around Nico and the ever present sense of Death that hung around him like everyone else on the ship (sometimes Hazel, sometimes not) did. He struck up conversation with the half-Italian, tried to make him feel included, tried to be his _friend_. Nico knew he was a hard person to get along with, but it would've been even better if damn Jason Grace and his damned blue eyes and damned blond hair and damned cute scar above his lip didn't try so hard.

"Hey, Nico, are you ok?"

"I'm fine, Grace."

"You out of anyone here needs their sleep. You should go—"

"I'm _not _sleeping in Percy's room!" Nico's voice went a little louder than he intended it to.

Immediately, Nico's eyes fell to his lap. He could hear the subtle scrap of the chair across from him being pulled out as Nico sat down.

"Are you dreaming of Tartarus then?" Jason asked, softly, like talking to a wounded animal. Maybe that's was he was, Nico thought bitterly, just a fucking animal.

"Yes." _I feel like I can't get enough air, like my lungs are collapsing on me, every where's too dark, I'm dying I'm dying I'm dying. _

"Do you want to bunk with me?" Nico head snapped up to look into the earnest eyes of Jason Grace.

"You're ok with that?"

"I wouldn't have asked if I wasn't. I can take the floor and—"

"No, no I couldn't let you do that."

"You're the one who needs to sleep."

"I've slept in worse places than someone's floor, Grace. Just lead the way."

…

Jason's room had a porthole that looked out onto the soft blue waves of the Mediterranean. Starry light shone in and Nico was glad he hadn't had to ask for something stupid like a nightlight. The son of Hades watched as Jason got a few extra blankets and a pillow from down the hall and spread them out on the floor beside Jason's bed. Even from there, the sound of Coach Hedge's snoring echoed up and down the hall.

"There we go, all set." Jason said. He was now dressed in a pair of dark blue sweatpants and a t-shirt. He'd offered something to Nico, but Nico had declined. No getting closer than was absolutely necessary after all.

The blankets were warm and smelled a little musty but that was ok. The slight creaking of Jason settling in bed above him and the sound of Coach Hedge's snoring harmonized with the creaking of the hull.

…

Sometimes, Nico was able to get to sleep.

Most of the time, it was Jason's fault.

**Reviews are love, requests are open!**


	7. In the Eye of the Beholder

**This was an anon request from tumblr, for Nico to be blinded after an accident and Jasico and yeah. And yes, before anyone complains, it was supposed to be written like this.**

hes the only one that doesnt treat me like im disabled.

sometimes, when were alone, hell describe the day to me. what the weather is. how the sun shines through the leaves and how the city looks from outside the apartment.

i dont go to camp much anymore.

im an invalid.

whats a demigod without their eyesight, their reflexes? useless. i cant dive and twist and turn like i was once able to. if any of the furniture is moved im screwed. we tried the walking stick, but it reminded me more of my condition.

i snapped it in half.

most days it doesnt bother me. i sit on the couch and listen to my records, or talk radio, or listen to the news. i sleep. there's not much difference anymore between awake and asleep except for how much i hear.

he got me a seeing eye dog. he tells me she's a black lab with big brown puppy eyes. like mine, he says. except they work. her name is chiara. i call her chi. she sits with me and sleeps next to me and opens the door when its one of those days when i cant seem to get myself out of bed. she can feed herself. and doesnt drink out of the toilet.

i miss being able to see him. i miss seeing the way the sun glints off his hair and the tanned warmth of his skin and the tattoo on his forearm and the scar above his lip. i miss being able to ogle his ass when he bends over or not miss when i try to kiss him. he knows lots of adjectives though, which is about as much as i can ask of him.

at night when he comes home from camp or work or whatever, the same time each day but the exact time i dont know, chi will get up to greet him. let him know im ok. he cooks, he orders pizza, i help when i can.

i never realized how nice he smelled before i got two eyefuls of drakon venem. he smells like a warm summer day when the land is baking in the sun and the air is fresh and everyone should really be outside in the sunshine. he smells like sunshine. hes warm, like sunshine.

i feel the stubble across my back in the mornings. when im awake and he isnt and i can hear him, feel him, breathing, deep and slow. he never keeps me from touching. he holds me when i have nightmares and lets me listen to his heart beat. he whispers i love you, louder than before, into my skin as he helps me out of my clothes at night.

he keeps me close. he tells me im beautiful, even with two eyes that dont work. he leans back when its the end of the day and we finally get to be joined in the most intimate way possible and he lets me _touch_.

he holds me when i cry. i cry often. easily. i get frustrated with myself. humans were supposed to have two eyes that see. i dont get out of bed sometimes.

and yet

hes there.

hes the only one that doesnt make me feel disabled.

like

im not

useless.

**Reviews are love, requests are open!**


	8. Love is an Open Door

**This was requested by CreCra, who wanted, "everyone finds out when Leo walks in on Jason and Nico kissing." Here it is, I hope you like it! Also, I'm very sorry if you've requested something and you don't see it up as soon as you think. There's a lot of requests from here and from Tumblr but I'm trying to update at least once (twice if you're lucky) a day. REQUESTS ARE STILL OPEN!**

It was safe to say, as much as Leo disliked the title, he had more or less been deemed Repair Boy as soon as they had set off for the Old World. This wasn't to say that he didn't like building and fixing and keeping things running smoothly (or as smoothly as he could on a quest run by a bunch of hyperactive teenagers) but, c'mon, he felt kinda stereotyped. A guy of Hispanic background doing medial handy-man labor? Yeah. Iffy about that one.

It was his duty though, so he basically lived in the engine room. The thrum of the ship's engines and the pistons working together to keep them sailing drummed in Leo's ears constantly, even echoing in his dreams. At this rate, he was going to go deaf at 18. (If he lived that long, even.)

Sometimes, it was a little disconcerting, to be in the engine room 24/7. Sure, he did always deal better with nonorganic life forms, but he felt out of place with the rest of the crew. He sometimes lost touch with current events, only to be caught up when he went topside to steer or maybe consume sustenance.

Leo knew the whole engine room like the back of his hand. He could tell anyone where every bolt, nut and screw was. Apparently though, he needed to up security.

Something was making noise, out of sync with the rest of the machinery. From his place at his worktable, trying to lubricate a testy piston, something was making a nonmetallic banging sound from one of the storage closets on the other side of the wall where Leo's workspace was set up.

Buford probably got himself locked in the closet again, Leo thought, putting the piston down and readjusting his tool belt. Buford, being an enchanted wooden table, was not known for his wits. And ability to get in and out of closets correctly. So all things considered, Leo had come to a logical conclusion and made his way down the adjacent hall to the door of the storage room.

The door's freaking open, Leo thought as he came to a stop, is that oversized piece of firewood really dumb enough to get stuck in an open closet?

Leo rolled his eyes and reached out to open the closet. Another hard bang made the son of Hephaestus sigh as he wrenched open the door—

—to see not a magicked piece of wood but two very familiar persons trying to eat each other's faces off.

Leo was going to need some seriously brain bleach to ever get the vision of Nico di Angelo straddling Jason Grace's lap and making out like the world was ending tomorrow. Jason's hand was halfway up the son of Hades' shirt and Nico's own hands were inching lower and lower with each second. Both had mussed hair and the blond was sporting an impressive hickey on the underneath of his jaw.

Leo shook himself and closed the door. He didn't even hear a disruption as he walked away. Really, he was happy for his friends, but it was sort of depressing that even the creepy-ass son of the god of the Underworld was getting more action than he was. Like, really depressing.

…

If there was anyone that would be able to get Nico in line, it would be Hazel. Leo had watch with her that night, and it was almost weird to be above deck. Gods, that was probably a bad sign.

"So can you tell your brother that if he's going to make out with his Golden Boy boyfriend below deck, he needs to find a door that locks? Or you know, put a tie on the door or something, 'cause I _do not_ want to see either Nico or Jason like that ever again." Leo said. Hazel, who had been previously drawing patterns on the deck railing with her fingers stopped suddenly.

"Nico and Jason were doing _what?!_" Hazel cried, shock evident in her expression.

Whoops.

As previously mentioned, Leo didn't get out much anymore. Well, not to say he got out much previously, but definitely less than before. So it couldn't be _entirely_ his fault for not knowing that Jason and Nico were still on the "down low"? Right? Seriously, it was just so _sudden_ and Leo was always that last to know anyways so...totally not his fault.

...for outing a guy to his sister.

Whoops.

…

Leo knew he was going to have to fear for his life. Hazel had gone to their residential daughter of the lady of Love, who had then congratulated the happy couple at dinner, causing Frank to choke, Coach Hedge to shriek to Olympus, Jason to go a very very _very_ nasty shade of green and for Nico to slowly get out of his seat and look Leo right in the eyes.

Leo had never wanted to die so much as he had in that moment. Death would be a _mercy_ compared to that look in Nico di Angelo's eyes.

"I'm giving you to the count of three to run, Leo Valdez, _prima di diventare un uomo morto!"_

Leo _ran_.

**Translation (from Italian):**

**prima di diventare un uomo morto - before becoming (you become) a dead ****man**

**Reviews are love, requests are open!**


	9. Into the Woods

**This was requested by xoxodenisee, who wanted "Jason plans a cute date and everything goes horrible wrong." Again, Nico and Jason, in my head at least, just screw like 98.4% of the time. Enjoy and PLEASE LEAVE A REQUEST!**

Jason likes to think he's sneaky.

The dude is a six-foot-one blond wall of meat that's about as sneaky as a little boy pulling on the pigtails of a girl who sits in front of him in class. In other words, painfully obvious.

He's got this look on his face, like he _knows_ something; and that he can barely contain himself. Jason's really bad at keeping secrets, and he's kind of like a big excitable golden retriever that thinks it's a lap dog when you get him going enough. He's been like that for the last hour or so, while he was coercing me into getting to the car because apparently we're meeting Percy and Annabeth for lunch.

I doubt that Percy and Annabeth are even on his mind at all right now.

But whatever, it's cute when he tries to surprise me with these kinds of things. Like I didn't see him sneak out at some ungodly hour of the morning today to put a picnic basket, a blanket and a bottle of wine in the trunk.

God, he looks so excited. Like he's gonna explode if he doesn't say something soon.

I flip the station on the radio, some nameless pop song (Rachel would be able to name it and Thalia would call it misogynistic propaganda) comes on and I relax back into my seat. We've been out of New York City for a while now and we've started heading upstate. Maybe he booked a cabin in the Berkshires? Too early to be certain.

"You all right there?" I ask as Jason's smile threatens to break his face again.

"What, me? Fine, fine, absolutely fine." Jason says, trying his best to act nonchalant. I raise an eyebrow but settle into my seat to try and not give myself neck cramps.

"Well if everything's fine, I'm gonna take a nap."

I close my eyes. Jason's hand reaches over to give mine a squeeze.

…

When I wake up it must be about an hour later. We've come to a stop so I assume we're there, but Jason's swearing under his breath. Immediately, I'm reaching for the knife in my boot. "Is everything ok? Are we being trailed?"

Jason sighs and the monumentally happy look that was gracing his face earlier is gone, "No...engine fucking gave out."

Jason does not use expletives very often. He leaves the swearing to me and my knowledge of several languages. I've only heard him swear when he's upset or we're in bed and I, ahem, am using a certain set of skills on him, but that's about it.

"It's all right." I say quietly.

"No," he says, "no it isn't because this was supposed to be perfect and now it's all fucking ruined. We were gonna have a picnic and spend the little time off we have together and now…" His head drops to the steering wheel in defeat.

The poor guy looks close to tears so I try to cut his self-loathing off by dragging his head down and kissing him. "I love you," I say against his lips, "and this was really sweet of you to do. Thank you, darling."

He sighs again but nods and says, "I love you, too, baby bat," because he knows I hate that nickname. I unbuckle my seatbelt and awkwardly try not to hit myself between the legs with the stick shift as I settle myself in Jason's lap.

"Here's the plan," I say after taking a quick look around. We're on a small little side road with no traffic but the trees and the scenery are nice and the sky is as blue as Jason's eyes and it's quiet and perfect. "We have our picnic here. And after I shadow travel us back home, car and all."

"You sure you can take the car?"

I deadpan, "If I got the fucking Athena Parthenos across the fucking Atlantic Ocean, yes, I can take your Ford Focus."

I finally get a smile out of him and he kisses me again, "Thank you for understanding." He nuzzles my neck and pulls me a little closer to him. He's warm and nice and I like it when he holds me as much as I grumble about being crushed. Although if he doesn't stop soon, we might not get out of this car for a very long time.

"'Course, you _idiota_, thank you for going through all this trouble in the first place."

The corner of his mouth quirks up a little, a calloused hand sneaks up the back of my shirt. Perhaps that picnic will have to wait an hour. Or two.

**reviews are love, requests are open!**


	10. Kiss of Death

**This was requested by Juliakaze26 for "Jason getting seriously ill and Nico taking care of him." This is loosely based on my father getting mono before he married my mom and they almost had to push back the wedding. So yeah. REQUESTS ARE OPEN!**

Here's a lesson kids: don't share water bottles.

Especially not with the Aphrodite Cabin.

…

Basically, when you get mono, you feel like death. Like every movement makes you want to throw up or pass out or a combination of both. It's physically exhausting for me to drag myself to the bathroom or to shower and I don't think I've gotten more down than toast and water for the last couple of weeks.

Will Solace said I should start to feel better within the next week and a half to two weeks, since I _was_ a pretty healthy guy before this whole thing started. I don't even know when the last time I went outside was. My head pounds and I just feel _too hot too hot too hot_. I think I've lost 20 pounds.

Nico dotes on me. I don't complain and I don't fight it because I appreciate him dealing with me and it's not like I can take care of myself right now. As soon as I started showing symptoms he dragged me to his cabin and made me lie down. His bed is warm and safe and during the bad nights he comes and cuddles me and my too hot skin. He presses kisses to my sweaty forehead and I've become a real fan recently of sponge baths.

"How're you feeling, _caro_?" He asks in the dark mornings when my rolling stomach wakes me up and I can't do much more than stumble to the bathroom.

"Weak, pathetic." Is what I say, using the two words I usually use to describe myself nowadays.

"You're color looks better today," He says every day.

"Thanks," I respond.

"Come back here and lie down; you look shaky." He orders and scoots over in the bed to make room for me. I press my face into his neck and breathe in the earthy smell of him and the musky smell of his aftershave. His arms come up and rub my sore muscles in my back. The thing about mono is that you might feel perfectly fine for a couple of hours, but if you over-do it in that pseudo window of health, you'll be back to square one the next day, sore and tired and pitiful.

"You're doing great," He tells me, "you'll be get better really soon."

"Ok." I tell him.

He lets me go back to sleep. When I wake up there's some tea with honey and two pieces of buttered toast waiting for me.

…

Some days, I get called into the infirmary for blood tests and general check-ups. Usually, luckily, the appointments are later in the day. I have a feeling that Nico and his predisposition to not be an early bird may have something to do with it.

He helps me into sweatpants that are too loose around the middle and a t-shirt and sweatshirt that used to be too tight around my chest and now fit perfectly. He pulls one of his beanies over my head and ears ("It's cold out, Jason and I swear to the gods if you get even sicker I'm gonna drag Apollo down here by his sunny little ass and threaten to decapitate all his statues if he doesn't heal you.") and kisses my nose before helping me stand up and walk to the living room. Percy stops in to help escort me to the infirmary. Even if I've lost a good twenty pounds, it still wouldn't be fair to Nico for him to have to carry my 180-something pounds of almost dead weight to and from the Big House.

Percy smiles at me when he comes to help take me over. "How ya feelin', Jay?"

"How do you think?" I say. I'm sitting on the couch in the living room of Cabin 13, bundled up in my sweats and a quilt Hazel made for us one Christmas. Percy squeezes my shoulder, wraps one of his arms around my torso and helps me to stand. Nico grabs his keys and opens the door and off we go.

I get strange looks every time I go to the infirmary. Maybe people still can't get over how sick I actually am. I try to ignore it but the looks make my skin crawl. I know I'm making a pained face when Nico takes my hand and squeezes it.

"_Ti amo_." He whispers.

…

I recline back in the infirmary bed as Will takes the blood sample he just took to be tested. I have a box of apple juice and a muffin in front of me and I don't know whether eating it will be worth the possibility of vomiting it up later. Percy's left to talk to Chiron so I'm left alone with Nico.

His dark hair is tied back in a short ponytail and he's wrapped up in his North Face and leaning on my arm. His hand is clasped in mine, rubbing soft circles on the outside of my hand.

"You're getting better every day," He tells me.

"I know."

"We can always push the date back. It's not like it'll really upset Chiron or whatever."

"I know."

"The most important thing is that you can stand up to say your vows. And that I can kiss you without getting sick."

"I know." I pause, "I doubt the tux will still fit."

"Fuck the tux," He says, nuzzling his face into my shoulder, "We'll get married in jeans in t-shirts for all I care. I just want my name on a fucking piece of paper next to yours by the end of the year."

"Ok." I say. I kissed his forehead and poke the straw through my apple juice box. I'll get better, I tell myself, for Nico and for our wedding.

I'm asleep with my arms wrapped around Nico by the time Will comes back with the results.

**Reviews are love, requests are open!**


	11. In the Quiet of the Morning

**This was an anonymous request for, "Jason is super stressed for a job interview/promotion and Nico helps him be less stressed." Total sap and cute demigods doing cute couplely things. REQUESTS ARE OPEN.**

A soft gray light filtered through the apartment, coming through the window above the kitchen sink and the sliding glass doors that opened up onto the balcony that the taller of the two occupants swore they would use one day but had so far been christened a storage area for all the houseplants they had gotten as apartment warming gifts. ("Yes, give the son of the god of the Underworld living organisms to take care of, way to go." A sigh, "They look nice, shut up.") It was probably for the best, though, since the Seattle weather had been nothing but stereotypical the entirety of the time they had been here so far.

Two weeks into their move to their new Seattle apartment and Jason was already getting a callback interview to one of the jobs he'd applied for. A real job, like, an actual paycheck and not just the minimum wage he got from working at Starbucks at odd hours of the week. As soon as he'd gotten the email, butterflies had hatched in the pit of his stomach and had refused to go away.

So now Jason stood in their kitchen at six in the morning, a cup of forgotten coffee in hand as he stared out into the misty Washington weather, blankly. He had an interview to get to in a few hours, and he felt like he might collapse any second.

The soft patter of bare feet on the tile floor made Jason's tense shoulders relax just a smidge.

"Morning, _bello_," Nico said, coming up behind Jason and wrapping his arms around the taller demigod. Nico face was pressed between Jason's shoulder blades and Jason wished to stay like that forever. A small smile grew on Jason's face as he set his cup down.

"What're you doing up, sweetheart?" Jason asked, turning around in Nico's hold and scooping up the half-Italian in his arms and setting him down on the countertop in front of him. The gray light from the quiet morning was seeping between the locks of Nico's hair and highlighted the dark brown shade of his eyes, blinking sleepily.

As much as Nico hated it when Jason said it, Nico was really very cute for an ass-kicking all-powerful demigod. He had thrown on a too-big maroon sweater that Sally Jackson had knitted for him several years ago, a few sizes too big thinking he'd grow into it (which hadn't happened, Jason was almost grateful), over his black boxer-briefs he usually slept in. A strand of shaggy black hair was pushed behind one of Nico's ears and Jason leaned down to kiss him.

"Bed got cold without you," Nico said, bring Jason a little closer as he wrapped his legs around the blond, "And you don't have to be at the firm 'til 9 _when they actually open_ so I know something's up. Spill the beans, _tesoro_."

Jason's head dropped to Nico's shoulder, a sigh escaping him. In a very small voice, Jason said aloud, "What if I don't get the job?"

"Then you'll go find another one, Jason. But you're handsome and you're smart and you've done all the boring school things to make it up to this point so they'd have to be absolutely crazy, deaf and blind to not hire you." Nico said. Graceful, calloused fingers came to knead out the kinks in Jason's neck and shoulders.

"This grown-up, mortal stuff is hard." Jason grumbled.

"Tell me about it."

Jason's hands came to rest on the warm skin at the small of Nico's back, underneath the sweater. It was warm and safe and platonic and Jason wouldn't rather be sharing this part of his life with anyone else but the man in front of him.

"Do you know how much I love you?" Jason asked, pressing a few kisses to Nico's shoulder as the sweater drooped.

"Tell me anyways."

"So, so much," Jason said, again and again to Nico's skin as the half-Italian ran a hand through Jason's hair. Nico brought their lips together again, nuzzling their noses together for a few seconds. As Jason's hands found Nico's smaller ones, Nico smiled and said, "Well, you have a few hours to kill. Breakfast?"

"Depends. Pancakes?" Jason asked.

Nico rolled his eyes, "Only for you, _Ragazzo D'oro_."

As Nico hopped off the counter to grab the milk and eggs from their refrigerator, Jason pressed a hand to his stomach.

The butterflies were gone.

**Reviews are love, requests are open.**


	12. Sing-a-long, Sister

**This was an anonymous request for genderbent Jasico. And look, you get campfire sing-a-longs and flaming marshmallows, what's not to love. All alternate names are listed after the drabble. REQUESTS ARE OPEN.**

Nicole usually kept to the outside of the campfire. Anyone, if they looked close enough, could see her small figure, dark eyes and curtain of black hair masked by the shadows that were thrown by the yellow-orange-red-blue-white fire in the middle of the amphitheater.

Sometimes, Henry came and sat with her, where they were joined by Francis; the Chinese-Canadian looked seemingly uncomfortable with sitting in close proximity to the daughter of Hades at a dark hour of the night. Then again, no one would really blame her.

…

Nicole usually didn't eat at campfires, didn't sing. Lea would sometimes throw an arm around the half-Italian, maybe flambé a few marshmallows to see if she could get a smile out of Nicole. Apparently, flaming chunks of condensed sugar getting stuck in one's hair didn't equate the definition of a great time for everybody.

…

It wasn't as if Jaylin didn't like the campfires at Camp Half-Blood, but they were just so…Greek. Too loud, too noisy, too many people out of line and the possibility of getting hit by flaming sugar was too high for comfort.

Jay tended to stick to the outskirts of the affair. She watched the Stoll sisters light something up that they probably shouldn't have had, and she even caught an Aphrodite boy (what was his name? Piper was always complaining about him…Derek? Dylan? Drew? Drew) and an Apollo girl in a compromising position. And then there was Nicole.

The daughter of Hades looked uncomfortable wearing an incredibly loud, orange Camp T-shirt and sitting by herself in the lower tier of seats in the amphitheater. Jay was surprised to a point that the girl had even come, knowing Nicole's distinct lack for large crowds and sing-a-longs.

"Mind if I join you?" Jay asked.

Nicole looked up from the spot in the middle distance she'd been staring at. "If I say no, will that stop you?" She patted the space next to her as she threw her bangs back into place with a shake of her head.

Jay took the seat her friend had offered her (were they friends? They had saved the world together, that had to count of something) and offered the younger girl some peanuts she'd bought from concessions. Much safer than the flying, flaming marshmallows.

"Thanks." Nicole said, taking a few and smashing one's shell between her palm and the marble bench, "'S nice of you."

"'Course," Jay said. They sat silently together for a while, watching the fire grow in crescendo as the chorus of the latest sing-a-long reached its peak. A laugh come from overhead as a flaming, sugary projectile landed in the narrow space between them. Jay didn't waste any time in using her Converse to stamp out the sticky fire. Nicole was on her feet and staring into the crowd of faces above them.

"Probably some Ares assholes. Clarence and his gang." Nicole said, hand nearing the knife strapped to her thigh (which was totally not hot nope nope nope shut up brain.) Jay turned to look out of the amphitheater and into the slowly darkening camp grounds. Didn't the Greeks have some weird thing about going out after dark and getting eaten?

"Do you wanna get out of here?" Jay asked, hoping the slight red of her cheeks could be blamed on the heat of the fire.

Nicole chuckled, "Are you suggesting a _night cap_, Miss Grace?"

Any redness in her cheeks had to be multiplied tenfold now. Honestly, she was a _Roman_, a daughter of Jupiter! She could handle a few innuendos made by a (frankly very attractive) Greco-Italian.

"Er…"

"Well, I accept." Nico said, outright laughing, "Better than singing and watching Perci and Andrew make-out anyways."

"Yeah…well…um…"

"So…" Nicole said, sliding an arm through Jay's, "Your place or mine?"

…

Nicole and Jaylin usually didn't attend campfires anymore. They had more important things to attend to.

**Alternate names-**

**Nicole- Nico**

**Jaylin- Jason**

**Henry- Hazel**

**Francis- Frank**

**Lea- Leo**

**Piper- Piper (it's unisex!)**

**Drew- Drew (it's unisex!)**

**Clarence- Clarisse**

**Perci- Percy**

**Andrew- Annabeth**

**Reviews are love, requests are open.**


	13. Beauty in the Water

**This was an anonymous request for a merman au, so here you go. Also, ****QUICK NOTE ABOUT REQUESTS:**** If you have already submitted a request, please refrain from doing so again until I can get through the impressive list I already have, and please only ****submit one at a time****, for the time being at least. This may change and I'll tell you all when, but ****REQUESTS ARE STILL OPEN. **

Jason is told, by the men that frequent the docks where they stop under pseudonyms and a fake flag, that there are worse things in life than being under command of Captain Perseus Jackson. For a pirate, he has good manners, a firm conduct, and most of his teeth are real, so there's always that.

But then there's his temper.

The men at the docks and the ports often talk of the good captain's supposed parenthood. Really thought, sailors' tales are always a bit fantastic but Jason supposes that Captain Perseus is handsome enough and skilled enough at seafaring and sword fighting to be considered the son of a sea god. There's also the fact that when Perseus' temper spikes, the waves beneath the ship rock and sway the wooden hull and dark clouds appear on the horizon.

As of now, there seems to be a storm brewing in the east, as strong as the one that shows in the captain's eyes. _The Bloody Roman_ has appeared to the west, a rival ship captained by a man by the name of Octavian, Perseus' long time enemy. Jason can see the tension in the captain's stance from the rigging.

"Orders, Cap't?" Jason calls from above.

"Aye," Perseus says, turning his eyes from the ship slowly getting bigger as it nears, "All hands on deck, pistols and sabers at the ready. It will be a bloody one."

…

The storm has come fast and thick within the last hour. Clarity is at a minimum as Jason fights with one of the crew members from Octavian's ship. The boat they are on (he can't be sure whose for they are up against each other's hull) creaks as it's thrown in the waves and pelted by the rain.

Jason jabs at the brute of a man before him, who parries the thrust. One hard throw of the waves below and Jason is thrown against the rail of the ship. His opponent towers over him, and smiles with a dark glint in his eyes as he picks Jason up by the back of his tunic and throws him overboard.

…

Quite honestly, Jason did not expect to wake up, much less to sunshine. He _had_ expected a watery grave, after the initial force of the impact from hitting the water had knocked the breath from him.

But no, he had been laid out, most likely to dry, on an outcropping of a rock of a small inlet. His tunic was laid out a little ways off, on another larger rock. Luckily, he had been left his pants.

He pulled himself into a sitting position, shading his eyes from the glare of the sun off the waves. From out of the corner of his eyes he saw movement, a something, _someone_, dart behind a boulder set in the water.

"Hello?" Jason calls, "Is there anyone there?"

He notices his boots are also missing as he jumps from rock to rock, making his way to the boulder. There's movement again, now that Jason is closer. He crouches down.

"I'm…I'm not going to hurt you, I'm not armed; I just want to know who you are and why we're here."

A face and hands and next a torso peek out from behind the boulder. At first, Jason thinks it must be another castaway, from Octavian's ship, but the light glints off something in the water and Jason is soon to find that the creature in front of him is half fish. A mermaid.

Well, mer_man_ seeing how its chest is flat and hair is kept short. Otherwise he (he?) is very handsome. Black hair is woven with seaweed and a pearl ornament adorns the merman's right ear. His skin is an olive color, and luckily he looks more curious than scared.

"Hello." He says, swimming a bit closer to Jason. Jason sits down on the rocks, dangling his legs into the water. The merman has a bit of an accent, as if he is from a place even more south than the Southern Valleys.

"Did…Was it you who dragged me out?" Jason asks. The merman quirks his head, pondering for a moment before saying, "You two-legged things seem to have little use for being underwater very long."

Jason cracks a smile, "Very true."

The merman cocks his head to the side before swimming closer and tugging on the frayed end of Jason's pants, "What do they call you, in the human tongue?"

"Jason." Jason says. The merman's fingers are webbed slightly, but his skin is warm as a human's. Jason has heard fishermen's tales of merpeople, slimy and hungry for manflesh, but this creature seems to be as cultured as anyone, certainly to the degree of a pirate. "And what of you?" Jason asks, "What do your people call you?"

The merman makes a bubbling sound in the back of his throat. Jason pauses, "Do you, ah, have a nickname?"

The creature giggles and makes a slight splash with his tail, a thing covered in scales the color of quicksilver. "Nico," he says.

Well.

Nico suddenly withdraws his hand and swims out a bit, "Come, _Jason_, you smell of sweat and blood and it won't be long before your captain comes to collect you."

"My captain?" Jason asks, darting away from the creature only so he could grab his tunic, "How does he…?"

"Perseus has many friends in the seas, word has been sent, 'tis why I pulled you out in the first place." Nico says, before swimming around the rocks in an obvious gesture for Jason to follow. Jason does, jumping from rock to rock before finally giving up and diving in after his companion.

"So it's true?" Jason asks, they've reached an alcove that Nico hesitates no time into entering. They end up in a large, domed space with a spring bubbling up in the center. The water has turned fresh and Jason drinks.

"That Perseus is the son of a sea god?" Nico asks, voice light, "Nay, but the son of a rather powerful water spirit, which nowadays is really all the same." He's gotten closer now, to Jason, tail entwining his legs. The smile Nico has on his face is the same as the ones the girls of the villages give Jason when they stop, coy and coquettish.

"But yet the captain is still a long way off, and you must be returned clean." Nico darts forward quickly and presses lips, tasting of salt and spice, to Jason's.

Perhaps, next time they land, Jason will have a few stories of his own for the men that frequent the docks.

**Reviews are love.**


	14. We're Believers, I Believe Tonight

**This is for several people on Tumblr, and because by now, I'm sure you guys deserve some actual sex. So thanks for sticking with me and enjoy! Also, requests are still open but I'm slowly working through them so…yeah. (As you can probably guess, this is being bumped up to M.)**

I'm awake first today, but I'm usually the first one to wake up, the one most likely to wake up early. Of course, just because I'm awake doesn't mean a thing towards actually getting up. There are plenty of things to do in the quiet of the morning, lazing in bed. Like watch Nico sleep deeply, soft puffs of breath escaping from pink, bow-shaped lips; long, dark eyelashes brushing pale cheekbones as their owner slumbers away; or the sweep of Nico's dark hair against the pillow or the way the light that came in through the window reflects off his complexion, smooth and olive and calm. The quality that sleep brings about him fits him beautifully.

I'm fortunate enough that Nico is a major cuddler, and that he takes such joy in fitting himself into the curve of my body, and allowing me the opportunity to drape his body with mine. His face is fitting into the crook of my neck, his exhaling breaths hitting the hollow of my throat, and his torso and legs tucked into mine. I support his back, keep him close to me, with an arm behind him. I can't make a move, not until he does, because if I do, our calm will be destroyed and Nico will wake up.

But if he needs prompting I'm here to give a few, fluttering kisses to his forehead and cheeks and jaw and neck to help wake him up. I do so, as my hand and wrist and arm slip up the back of Nico's t-shirt and rest against the sleep-warmed skin there. He sighs a little in his sleep, stretching his legs against mine and shifting until we are more entangled in one another than before. I angle another kiss, this time for those rosy lips, and he finally reciprocates in his sleepy-haze.

"Mm," Nico says, hand sliding to my side, his hand creating goose-bumps as it trails, "n'ce way t' wake 'p."

"Very much so, yes," I whisper into his hair. We pull each other a little closer still, flush against one another and not rushed to do anything about the situation at hand just yet. It's a Saturday and we're together and there's nowhere else I'd rather be.

His fingers, long and lean those fingers, (he'd be a pianist, I'm sure of it, if things were different) trail up my arm and to my neck, curling and rubbing against my stubbled jaw. He pulls my head down for a kiss which turns warm and toe-curling, bringing sparks of electricity to the base of my spine. My breath hitches as his tongue slides in next to mine, my hand moving up his back to cup the back of his head.

"_Ti amo_." Nico says between kisses, "And how I always will." He throws a leg over my hips, creating a better angle to roll our hips into one another's. We're hooked together now, close and warm and his body is supple and safe. I roll my hips at the new angle and his back arches.

My lips trail down from his lips, covering his chin and jaw and the curve of his neck and collarbone. He hums in appreciation as my hips roll in time with his. "I love you, too, Nico."

He catches my chin with his hand and tilts it up so I can look at him properly. He's got a sly look in his eyes, the kind he gets when he ends up stripping and dragging me to bed. "Then show me."

I'm not one to back down from a challenge.

From there on it's the rush of skin against skin as sleep clothes are taken off and Nico's legs bring me closer to him. He's able to rummage around in the bedside table for some lube and a condom as my lips trail down his torso. He's so warm and it's not all the time that I'm able to go this slow and savor the atmosphere. Being a demigod doesn't always leave enough time to be intimate with a partner.

He tosses me what he's retrieved from the table and I prepare him. One of his hands has come to rest on the back of my neck, bringing me down every so often to kiss him. "Jason," he whispers close into my ear and I try not to shiver. He sits up and presses hard, open mouthed kisses to my neck, sure to bruise and mark. Nico's a bit possessive. "I'm not going to break."

"Of course not, sweetheart."

I roll the condom on and push inside, slowly, earning a satisfied noise from Nico. "Mm, finally," He says, bringing me a little closer with a twist of his hips and flexing of his legs. One of my hands entangles his, the other on his hips, trying to steady myself as he adjusts. "Ok, ok, we're good."

I kiss his jaw before cantering my hips back and building up the pace. It's warm and close and intimate, my forehead resting in the crook of his neck as my hips flex as I thrust. Nico's swearing in Italian, praising the gods' for my endowment and ordering for me to pick up the pace. The sounds he makes each time I hit my mark are only helping the coil of heat building up in the pit of my stomach.

"Close." Nico says, short and almost out of breath.

"Me too," I say, hand gripping his hip harder as I try to keep hold on sweat slicked skin. A few more thrusts and he gone, and I follow soon after. I'm face to face with him now, my arms having given out, and all I can do is stroke his hair and tell him how good that was.

When we're both strong enough, I pull out and tie the condom off, throwing it into the trashcan next to the bed. Nico has shifted to lay on his side and I lie across from him, pulling him close into my arms. "That...that was great. We haven't had time to do that lately...I appreciate it. Thank you." Nico says, finally able to string a full sentence together. He looks like he could use a nap (then again, so could I) even though we must've woken up an hour earlier.

"Of course." I say, smoothing my hands over his skin and pressing a few kisses to his face. "I love you. And you know I enjoy sex as much as you do. And before you know it, I'll be out of the Legion and we'll have all this time on our hands."

He chuckles, pressing his face into my chest, "I can't wait. Nap first, then shower, then food?"

"I was planning on it." I say. I shift to be able to grab the covers from where they had been kicked to and pull them over the both of us. Cocooned in the blankets and my arms, Nico is out like a light in minutes. I'm off to join him shortly, but have time for one more kiss on the cheek, and one last thought of appreciation for the quiet mornings lazing in bed that end up with us sated and pressed together.

**Reviews are love, requests are open!**


	15. Lovers Quarrel

**This was requested by TheSkySpiritsTalentShow and yuMeNami, for a Jasico pillow fight. This was co-written with the lovely PrincessOfTheMoon87, so yeah, it might be kinda cracky. Reviews are open, but please don't make them anything too weird. And please proofread. **

Even though Jason was a _Roman _and a _soldier_ that still made him about as stealthy as two drunk water buffaloes. Nico could hear him coming from the bedroom to the living room almost immediately. He stayed where he was, waiting for Jason to come to him.

Nico was not expecting, however, to be hit on the back of the head with a pillow.

"_Scusi_?" Nico said, turning on a smirking Jason, pillow in hand, before grabbing a weapon of his own from the couch. Nico jumped the back of the sofa and ran after the retreating Roman, who had headed to what appeared to be his home base, the bedroom.

"Get back here, asshole!" Nico shouted, hitting Jason in the stomach as the latter made a dive for the bed, rolling to the other side. Jason laughed as he became stuck in the small space between the bed and the wall, "Ha, come and get me, sweetheart!"

Jason wriggled beneath the bed frame. Nico paused his attack to listen to the grunts Jason made as he tried to get out from under the offending piece of furniture. There was a thump after a few seconds as Jason hit his head on the bottom of the bed. Nico suppressed a giggle for the sake of Jason's ego.

"You ok down there?" Nico asked, lying on his stomach and ducking his head to look under the bed. He was met with the sight of a disgruntled Jason, rubbing the back of his head and clutching his fluffy weapon tightly. "Just _fine,_ thank you."

Nico did giggle this time as he rolled gracefully off the bed and nudged the frame over a bit, allowing Jason to wiggle out and escape. The half Italian yelped as Jason repaid his favor by hitting the smaller man with his pillow and dashing out of the room with a half-mad cackle.

After only a moment's delay, Nico sprinted down the hall after Jason. He found both the living room and the kitchen silent and empty, only leaving a closet or two, the bathroom and the balcony, which Nico knew Jason would not venture out to with a pillow in hand. People would talk.

Nico raised his pillow in preparation and ducked around the corner of the hallway into the bathroom. He flipped the lights on cautiously but found no sign of Jason. Maybe he had misjudged Jason. Maybe he didn't care what the neighbors thought. Maybe he enjoyed the feel of leather jackets on his face, found in the closets (ok so maybe there was a slight obsession no one could judge.)

But just as Nico turned to leave, Jason pushed his way through the shower curtain and hit Nico over the head with the pillow he had in hand. "BOOM, HEAD SHOT!" Jason shouted.

Nico growled and declared his revenge, starting after the taller man who weaved between the furniture. Nico leapt and took Jason down onto the carpeted floor of their bedroom."You really wanna play this way, Grace?" Nico asked ominously.

"Why, you got any ideas on how the rules might be changed?"

"Cheeky." Nico said. He hit Jason's back with his own weapon and rolled them to a point where Jason was sprawled on his back underneath Nico. "This might have to turn into a bit of a lesson, Grace." Nico growled into Jason's ear.

Jason visibly shivered, "Ah, yessir."

"So," Nico continued, "Your lesson begins now." He paused and watched Jason's flushed face and blow-wide pupils before smirking, reaching down, and hitting Jason square in the face with his pillow.

"BOOM, BITCH, HEAD SHOT!" Nico yelled and shadow traveled to the other side of the apartment before Jason could collect himself.

**Reviews are love, requests are open.**


	16. iPod Shuffle Challenge

**Everyone should do one of these once in their life, right? I know this isn't a request, but requests are still open! (Also, I know it's supposed to be ten drabbles but I was a little strapped for time, and yeah, update.) Side note: All the songs used are on my Spotify Jasico playlist, titled as such and under the same name as my pen name here. **

iPod shuffle challenge – Jasico

_Save Yourself I'll Hold Them Back- MCR_

"Hey."

Jason shows up out of nowhere one night, standing on Nico's front porch in that stupid letterman jacket that only makes the bastard look better. His eyes are sparkling as always and Nico wants to punch him.

"Yeah?" Nico says, raising his eyebrows in question.

Jason grins and pulls out a key ring from the pocket of his jacket. "Stole my dad's corvette. You up for a joyride?"

"You're shitting me." Nico deadpans.

"Course not!"

"Why me?"

"Oh come on, you've got the time, it's a swanky car. Let's go!"

Nico rolls his eyes, "All right, and if I say yes, where are we going?"

Jason grins, that million watt smile, "That's the best part, anywhere you want."

Nico looks over his shoulder. "Papa! I'm going out!"

_Drops of Jupiter – Train_

"So…" Nico said, "You're back."

There's no response. Nico shifts in his chair, fidgets, waits. Of course there's no response, he'd be stupid to think there'd be one. He fiddled with the hem of his sweater and clears his throat. "I mean…" He trailed off, he doesn't know what he means, of course, "I'm glad you're back with me."

Yeah. He knew he meant that, for sure.

"Sure, you're not like, _completely_ back, but you're physically here. I can touch you. Kiss you. I couldn't do that before." Nico reached out and placed a hand on the sheet next to Jason's. "I just…I love you, big guy."

Jason looked ethereal on the bed, lying stiff, hooked up to a life support machine. Nico blinked back tears, "Just…just _please_ wake up. I need you."

_C'mon – P!atD feat. Fun_

"We're most likely going to die tonight so…"

"Grace, we're most likely to die every night."

They were both armored up, ready for the next wave of Gaea's minions to cross over the hill. Jason was bearing a bloody, dirty streak across his forehead and Nico was sure he didn't look much better.

"Yeah…yeah, but I…could be the one dying with a final breath or whatever so…if I am, I just…"

"Yeah, I know, Grace. That's a real morale booster right there, thank you."

Jason rolled his eyes, took a deep breath and a step towards Nico, "Dude, I just, let me."

He grabbed the smaller boy's shoulders and pressed his lips to Nico's. Nico sucked in a breath and let Jason's tongue into his mouth. Jason had to make it. They had to make it.

_Strangers Like Me – Phil Collins_

Venice was gorgeous in the summer. Actually, Jason was pretty sure Venice had to be gorgeous all the time, and the way Nico slipped in between people and around streets was beautiful. Nico had grabbed his hand a couple of times and stopped to explain what their tour guide was saying in English.

"I could've just taken you on a tour." Nico said as they took a break for some gelato and sightseeing.

"Take a break, Nico, this is so you don't _have_ to do anything."

"If you say so." Nico said. Jason laughed and kissed his Venetian on the head. "It's our honeymoon, Nico. I say so."

_Waiting for Superman – Daughtry_

Nico sat on the swing, idly pumping his legs to get air. The sky had darkened over, it looked like ran. Nico liked the rain.

"What are you waiting for?" Someone asked from behind him. Nico's head whipped around to see that Grace boy from school, the one that was friends with Jackson and his crew.

"Dunno." Nico said, "Something, anything, the rain."

Grace (Jason?) sat on the swing next to him. "Ok."

After a few seconds, "Can I help you?"

"No. I think I'm waiting too."

"For what?"

"Dunno." Jason copied, "A pickmeup, I guess."

Nico took a closer look at the other boy, imagined a red cape and blue suit, "Superman?"

Jason's bright blue eyes turned to look at him, "Yeah." He paused, "Yeah, I guess I am."

Nico chuckled and started to pump him legs faster, "Well, you're too late, I've already found him."

_The Fighter – the Fray_

"I don't want you to go." Jason said. He had caught the edge of Nico's coat, the warlike expression he always got when he went on missions for his father always sent chills down Jason's spine.

"I have to, Jason. I don't have a choice. I should be glad that he's talking to me at all."

The last time Nico had come back from one of these things, he'd had a gash that had almost caused him to bleed out. There was not going to be a repeat of that, not if Jason could help it.

"Then…then take me with you. You don't have to do this on your own, Nico. I love you and I'm going to help you."

Nico grew contemplative for a second, before sighing and saying, "Ok, ok you can come just…be careful. I'm not going to lose you."

"Well, I'm not going to lose you, so I guess that'll be a fair trade-off, huh?" Jason said. Nico rolled his eyes and pulled Jason closer for a kiss before whispering, "Thank you," into the taller boy's ear.

**Reviews are love, requests are open!**


	17. When the Moon Hits Your Eye

**This was for ****X-Song of the Night-X**** who wanted Jasico with a mention of Hades, and who doesn't like a little mortal au from time to time? Also, Maria and Hades are one of the best couples in the book, so yeah, some di Angelo family fun. REQUESTS ARE OPEN!**

Nico was kind of hoping his father wouldn't rip Jason's head off in the short amount of time it was taking to put on his tie. At least he was close enough to the stairwell that he could run down and save Jason if he heard a blood curdling scream.

It had taken a lot of courage and strategic planning on his part when it had come to Jason meeting the head of the di Angelo family. Hades di Angelo had very…mixed feelings about his son's sexuality (he was accepting at most but not _approving _per say) and to meet the boy that was the current object of his son's affections was not going to be an easy ride. Nico, in all honesty, was surprised that blood had not yet been shed.

He took a deep breath at the top of the steps, sweating like a whore in church as walked down the far-too-grand steps of the far-too-grand di Angelo manor, like some virginal debutant. Of course he was looking for his father's approval (really, when _wasn't _he) but in the end all that mattered was Jason's reaction when he first laid eyes on him.

The reaction was one that Nico had been hoping for. Jason, who seemed to be making somewhat civil conversation with Hades (god bless him), was driven to slack-jawed silence. Nico liked to think he was good at cleaning up, and Jason's wide-eyed stare was proof enough. Jason's blue eyes were alight.

"Wow, Nico…you…wow." Jason said, grinning from ear to ear. Nico cracked a smile, "You clean up nicely, too, Grace."

Jason laughed, coming to the last step of the staircase to offer Nico his hand. Nico accepted with a smirk, allowing Jason to eventually wrap his arm around Nico's waist, content.

Nico's eyes caught his father's, whose expression was unreadable as always. His head was cocked slightly to the side, but made no move to protest when stepping aside as Mrs. di Angelo, Maria, swept into the room demanding pictures followed by a less than thrilled Bianca.

But then again, Bianca, 19 and very apathetic towards Nico as of late, was less than thrilled about a lot of things. She stood by the stairs, arms crossed and displaying the "too cool for medial high school things" vibe Nico was sure all college-kids displayed.

Jason, Nico realized for the millionth time as they were taking pictures, had a nice smile that was fit for picture taking. And it was also nice to see his mother enthusiastic and happy even with Jason holding him close to his side. The blond's slim, gray suit looked great of him; he looked like a movie star.

"Mama," Nico said, exasperated, "I think that's enough pictures."

Maria tutted, "Just a few more, _caro_. I have to have something to show the bridge club ladies."

Jason pulled him a little closer, "C'mon, Nico, how many times do you go to prom in your life?" He looked down at Nico in all of this 6-foot-one-ness and smiled like some California movie starlet.

"Obviously one time too many." Nico grumbled under his breath before putting on another smile for the camera. In the end, it was his father that made his mother stop with the camera and the flash.

"You have enough pictures for the entire state of New York, Maria." Hades said, reading for the camera and setting it down on the foyer tables, "The boys are going to be late."

Maria's focus changed 360-degrees right away. "Oh, yes, of course, of course." The di Angelo matriarch starting to push the two boys in the direction of the door.

"Now remember our little chat, Mr. Grace," Hades said, calm and stern looking from the staircase, "And have him home by midnight."

Jason paused only a fraction of second in walking Nico to the door, so sudden and over too quickly Nico almost thought he had imagined it, "Yessir." Nico rolled his eyes and grabbed the blond's arm, hauling Jason the rest of the way to the Bentley Jason had borrowed from Mr. Grace. As soon as they had slid into the car, Jason collapsed back into the seat.

"He threatened you, didn't he?"

"Yeah," Jason said, "yeah."

Nico chuckled, "Well, that went better than I expected."

There was a pause as the two sat in the driveway of the di Angelo manor. Nico leaned over to his boyfriend.

"You gonna start driving anytime soon?"

Jason turned the engine over, before asking, "Does…does he really mean it? About the meat cleaver?"

"Yessir."

"Shut up."

Nico laughed and reached for the radio knob.

**Reviews are love, requests are open!**


	18. Livin' La Viva Loca

**This was requested by NyssaFire who wanted "mortal girls flirting with either Jason or Nico and shit going down". So enjoy, and requests are open!**

"What's a nice boy like you sitting all by yourself for?" A sugary-sweet voice asked from somewhere behind him.

In truth, a nice boy like him was sitting all by himself very patiently for his boyfriend to come back from buying each of them a smoothie from the shop a little ways from the table he was currently saving for the two of them. Of course, the mortal girls (they smelled pretty mortal at least) behind him didn't know that. And there lay his problem.

"Just waiting for a friend." Jason said brightly, offering a polite smile to the two girls. They were both about 5'3" or so, one with brown hair and one with bleached blonde hair and both wearing very bleached smiles. They were both dressed for sunny Santa Monica weather in bikinis and cover-ups. Jason suddenly felt very much like cornered prey.

"Now who would leave _you_ alone?" Bleached-Blonde said, as both of them came to pull out chairs and sit across from him.

"Um…well he went to get us some smoothies so…" Jason said, scooting his chair back minimally.

"Well we'll just have to keep you company." Brunette said, smiling coquettishly. She leaned over the table a bit more, giving Jason an excellent view of her rack which was sorely unappreciated.

"You…you really don't have to do that, my friend will be right back." Jason said. Well, he really _hoped_ Nico would be right back because this was getting incredibly uncomfortable.

Bleached-Blonde moved her chair closer to Jason, laying a manicured hand on his knee. Jason tried not to suddenly recoil, or worse, let his training suddenly kick in and flip her over the cheap, plastic table, umbrella and all. "See, you don't have to lie to us, honey."

"I'm not lying?" Jason said. Were they monsters? They could be; just wearing all that perfume to masquerade as humans.

"Your friend seems to have been gone an awfully long time." Brunette commented idly. Jason shrugged again, and opened his mouth to say something. Thankfully, (_Thank Jupiter!_) he was saved by a very dark voice saying, "But now, I'm…back…"

Jason had never been happier to see the 5'6" menacing figure of Nico di Angelo, dressed in black skinny jeans and a white t-shirt with a skull design on it, before in his life. He looked very out of place in the colorful backdrop of Santa Monica, holding two smoothies very tightly.

Bleached-Blonde and Brunette had the audacity to be affronted, as though it was Nico who was the intruder. "Well we were having a fine conversation before you came."

"We were?" Jason asked.

"Did you miss that part?" Nico asked with a smirk.

"I think so."

Nico turned back to the two girls still sitting at their table, "Now, I'm giving you to the count of three to get away from _my boyfriend_ before I take these two smoothies and dump them down your respective cleavages, which, to be honest, really aren't that impressive."

Both of the two girls' jaws dropped, but Nico paid them no mind, coming to settle himself comfortable in Jason's lap. He looked at the two expectantly.

"One."

The two quickly started to scramble from their seats, as Jason went about giving out a little PDA, kissing Nico's neck and sliding a hand up the half-Italian's shirt.

"Two."

By the time Jason had pulled him as close as possible, the two had left, swaying their hips and fanning themselves as if they had just been harassed, looking for their next victim probably. Nico set the two smoothies on the table and wrapped his arms around the taller blond's neck. "Well, that was annoying."

"Really."

Nico pressed a kiss to his boyfriend's lips. "I thought they were going to jump you, to be perfectly honest."

"I thought so, too," Jason said, pressing his face to Nico's neck, "but I'm glad you got here in time."

"I can't take you anywhere, Superman." Nico said with a laugh, and handed Jason's mango smoothie to him. Jason took it gratefully.

"Well then, you'll just have to take me home," Jason said, "Won't you?"

Nico smirked and repositioned himself on Jason's lap, "I suppose I will."

**Reviews are love, Requests are open!**


	19. Never Said I'd Lie and Wait Forever

**This is for Lupita M who wanted, "Nico returning from an Underworld mission and collapsing in front of Jason and Jason is worried that Nico is going to die but there's a happy ending" and for someone on Tumblr. Hope you enjoy. Requests are open!**

It was raining at Camp Half-Blood.

Despite the magical protection Mr. D put over the camp from the elements, it was turning out to be a very dry summer, and the strawberry crops were not doing as well as they usually were. It happened sometimes; even with the plants going crazy under Mr. D's care, and sometimes outside measures had to be taken. But it was only allowed to rain at night anyways.

It calmed Jason, truthfully, to hear the rain patter down on the roof of Cabin 1, the occasional far off roll of thunder helping Jason drift off to sleep. The sound of rain had always calmed him down, and he felt closer to his father when the heavens opened up.

When a sharp knock came at Jason's door, Jason was almost sure he had imagined it. Who would be out so late at night anyways (it was pushing midnight, Jason had gone to bed later than usual) and in this weather? Deeming that whatever it was must be important, Jason got out of the sleeping bag in the far corner of Cabin 1 and went to open the door.

What greeted him was the sight of Nico di Angelo, soaked to the bone and covered not only in water but in blood. His own too, by the looks of the dark red stains on the smaller boy's abdomen and the even paler-than-usual pallor the boy had to him.

"Jay—"

Nico was leaning heavily on the door jamb. Snapping to his senses, Jason picked up the son of Hades, throwing his legs over one arm and supporting his back with the other, shielding the boy from elements with his own body and started towards the infirmary.

"Jay—" Nico started to say again, now clutching to Jason's now soaked t-shirt very tightly. "Shh,"Jason said, "It's ok, it's gonna be ok. Just rest right now. We'll have you back together in no time.

Jason made sure that one hand was keeping pressure on the blood stain welling up on the son of Hades' side. Dammit, he should've grabbed some bandages or another t-shirt or something…

The infirmary was one of the few places at Camp Half-Blood that was manned 24/7. It was a warm structure, lit by stringed lights and a fire at the far side. The outside was made of treated canvas that was surprisingly sturdy against the wind and the rain. Jason was able to kick open the door with one foot and make his way inside.

Sitting at the desk in the corner was a son of Apollo, Jason recalled his name being Austin or something of the same. "Jason?" Austin said, quickly rounding the desk. He looked like all children of Apollo; blond, blue-eyed, lean, well-tempered more or less.

"Nico's been hurt." Jason said, laying the boy in his arms on one of the infirmary beds, "I don't know how or why but he seems to—"

"Have lost a lot of blood." Austin finished. He immediately sat down next to Nico and took a knife from one of his pockets, cutting Nico's soaked t-shirt away from the wound, which Jason could now clearly see as a claw mark stretching from underneath Nico's pectoral's to his right hip. Austin whistled under his breath. As soon as the son of Apollo went to try and adjust Nico on the bed, Nico gave a little moan of pain.

"All right then, Jason," Austin said, "You'll find suture stuff and rubbing alcohol in the bottom right cabinet, I need you to grab that for me. After we stich him up, he's going to need a blood transfusion if it's as bad as it looks. Do you know what blood type he is?"

Jason shook his head. "No, I…but I'm type O, I can give some if I need to, right?"

"Yeah, perfect."

The two blonds worked diligently for the next hour and a half, sewing Nico up and trying to take care of the boy's growing fever by getting him out of the soaked clothes. "All this damn rain," Austin muttered at about 1 o'clock, "He picked a hell of a day to get himself hurt."

Jason knew Nico probably injured himself on one of those missions for his dad, where Nico would disappear for a few days at a time and show up again at Camp only to sleep for three days and have food shoved down his throat by the nearest _Argo II_ member. Gods, did he get worried for Nico. The kid had so much on his plate already, and to have nowhere safe to go…

But Nico had to think Jason was safe, right? After all, Jason had been the one with the injured demigod on his doorstep an hour and a half earlier.

It was too much to think about, right now, as he watched the blood he had given earlier drip back into Nico's veins. Some of Nico's color had come back, and Austin had him on a saline drip too, to rehydrate him. Most of Nico's middle was bandages (he'd needed, all together, 42 stiches) so Austin had also given Nico a shot of morphine for the pain. Altogether, Jason knew Nico was in capable hands of the Apollo healer, but leaving his friend now seemed unbearable.

He sat at the edge of Nico's bed, holding Nico's small hand tightly in his own, stroking the boy's black hair which had had to be tied back earlier that night. He bent over Nico's body long enough to press a kiss to the half-Italian's forehead and cheek. "You can't scare me like that again, Nico. Never again." Jason whispered.

"I'll try." Came a dry whisper from above Jason's bent-over form. Jason quickly looked up to see Nico looking back out him drowsily, with hazy eyes (from the morphine no doubt, and the pure exhaustion) and the smallest of smirks on his face. "Busted, Grace."

Jason smiled, but pressed another kiss to Nico's forehead. "I can live with that. How do you feel?"

"Like death." Nico said.

"More than usual?"

"Shut up," there was a lengthy pause, "stay?"

"Was planning on it."

Sometime during the night, Austin removed now the empty jar of blood and the rig to hold it from where Jason and Nico were. He was sure though, to not disturb Jason and Nico's clasped hands while he did so.

**Reviews are love, requests are open!**


	20. Never Thought We'd Ever

**This is for Hay who wanted a Jasico first date scenario with awkward!Jason cause we all know he's one, big bumbling teddy bear. Anyways, enjoy. Requests are open.**

Jason shifted in his seat uncomfortably. He immediately regretted his choice of venue of this first date: an Italian restaurant just a couple blocks away from where Percy lived, recommended by the son of Poseidon himself. It was probably making him look like he was trying too hard, taking an Italian to an _Italian_ restaurant. Nico hadn't said much as they were seated and even less up until then, so Jason was ready to mark this first date thing down as a loss.

It was a shame too because Jason was _so_ looking forward to spending time with Nico, spending time with him possibly as a _couple_, a thought which made Jason warm down to the tips of his toes.

But as of now, sitting in a little booth across from Nico, Jason was shifting uncomfortably in his seat and pulling on the hem of his blue polo he'd bought specifically because Nico had once commented blue was a good color on him. So far, it wasn't giving him much luck.

"So…" Jason began, conversationally over the dim Dean Martin playing in the background, "What're you going to have?" It was only polite that Jason was paying, since he'd been the once to ask Nico out on a date in the first place.

"The tortellini, I think. My mama used to make them from scratch." Nico said, tapping his menu.

"Oh."

Nico suddenly smiled at him, "It was…nice of you to take me here, Jason. I miss my home country sometimes, and as arguably good McDonald's is, it's nice to feel like I'm back in Venice."

"Oh." Jason said, then cleared his throat, "I-I'm glad you like it. That's…that's what I was thinking."

Ok, so maybe Nico just wasn't much of a small-talker. That was ok, Jason could work with that. Nico did genuinely look happy to be out with him, now that Jason looked closely. He wasn't frowning all that much, and one corner of his mouth kept twitching upwards. Maybe this was going to be more of a win than originally thought.

Their waitress came back shortly, a pretty auburn-haired girl named Angela, ready to take their order. Jason listened in fascination as Nico read off his order, his Italian accent shaping the way he said all the syllables. It was almost a surprise for Jason when it was his turn to order his food, he'd been so entranced in Nico's accent.

"Nico?" Jason asked after their waitress had left with their orders and their menus.

"Hm?"

"When exactly did you move to the States?"

"When? Oh well, the war started in Italy in what, 1940? And I was born in '34…so I was about 6 when we left? I dunno, I don't remember a whole lot of Italy, just some parts. And then my dad got us settled in D.C., and that's the last of the foggy memory I have until I was shipped off to military school."

Jason stared at him in disbelief. "Military school?"

"What, you think Jackson is the only one good at getting sent off to fancy private schools? I can't believe I haven't told you that one yet."

By the time their food arrived, Nico was wrapping up his story about Westover Hall and his time spent under the strict laws of Dr. Thorn, the manticore-principal.

"—and so then he just grew a _huge_ tail with all these spikes on it and I sweat-to-gods I thought I was gonna die but it turns out manticore poison isn't _lethal_, just a pain in the ass and a half, but it was crazy. I almost got nailed like half a dozen times."

The rest of the date went very similar to this. The two were soon swapping stories about their lives before they had met, and as Jason was paying the bill, Nico asked, "You wanna get some gelato? On me."

"Sure." Jason said, smiling. As soon as he had paid, he followed Nico out the door and around the corner to a small, secluded alleyway between two buildings.

"Gelato?" Jason asked, confused. Nico just shot him a shit eating grin, "The only place that I know of that sells good gelato is back in Italy, so I guess we're taking a short detour."

Before Jason knew it, his hand was grasped tightly in Nico's smaller one and he was being whisked through the darkness to wherever Nico had planned for him.

Ok, so maybe this could be chalked up as a win.

**Reviews are love, Requests are open!**


	21. Guest Author 1

**Hey guys, sorry for the lack of update in a while, but I've been really sick these past few days and have had a lot of stuff going on with school. So, here's an update, requested by ****Beeimahalfblood****, who wanted Jason introducing Nico as his boyfriend to his father and sister. This was not written by me, but actually by my friend ****Tumbling-into-oblivion****. Enjoy, requests are open!**

Jason fidgeted with his tie nervously as they rose in the elevator to Olympus.

"If you don't want to do this yet, we can wait," Nico reminded him as he took Jason's much larger hands in his own.

Jason shivered when Nico rubbed his thumbs soothingly over the backs of his hands but still replied, "Nico, if I don't do this now, I have no idea when my sister or my father will stand each other to be in the same place again. It's now or never."

Nico nodded and swallowed hard. Honestly, he was horrified at the idea of meeting Jason's dad. Of course, he had before, but not in the context of being Jason's boyfriend.

When the elevator stopped, Jason was sure his stomach hadn't; he eyed the garden of lilies in front of them warily. "You need a minute?" Nico asked, having noticed Jason's exchange with the lilies.

"If you puke," Nico continued, "I'll hold back your hair."

Jason laughed at the ridiculous notion. "Thanks, you always know what to say."

A blush crept onto Nico's face. "And that's why you love me," Nico finally said. Jason leaned down and gave him a quick peck on the lips before he leaned on the door to enter the throne room. Somehow, the action was lost on the other two occupants of the room, as they continued to talk.

"It's nice he's finally letting us meet her," Thalia said as she played with the Ophiotaurus in the corner. It was the same one that had caused her quite a problem on a quest several years earlier.

"What do you think is wrong with her?" Zeus mused from his perch on his throne.

"What do you mean?" Thalia said.

"Well, you'd think we would have met her by now. They've been dating a long time now, haven't they?" Zeus said.

"You didn't tell them I was a guy?" Nico whispered to Jason furiously.

"I wanted it to be a… surprise," Jason muttered.

"Oh, it's going to be a surprise alright," Nico spat. He wanted to yell, he really did, but he needed a moment to get his bearings before they had the hard conversation to come.

Jason cleared his throat next to him to get his family's attention, however unwanted it was to Nico.

"Father, Thalia," Jason greeted warmly as they moved farther into the throne room. Nico tried his best not to cower under the piercing eyes of the Lord of the Sky.

"What is the meaning of this?" Zeus questioned as he looked down on them. It was rather fitting, considering he looked down on everyone, the other gods included.

"Dad, Nico is my…"

"Boyfriend," Nico boldly finished for him. The glare Zeus had aimed at the small boy was enough to make him shiver in discomfort. Zeus remained silent for a long time and it gave Nico plenty of time to completely freak out. _This was such a bad idea,_ Nico thought as he stood there. He also noted how vulnerable they looked as they stood at the base of the massive throne. Cautiously, he reached out and took Jason's hand to calm his nerves, quite aware that Zeus's eyes had followed his every movement.

"This is true?" Zeus finally asked Jason. Thalia stood in shock next to her father, but chose to remain silent.

"Yes," Jason said, "It is."

"Jason," Zeus sighed, "I am so disappointed in you." Nico's world seemed to crash down around him- he know how much Jason wanted his father's approval.

"I raised you better than this."

"Father," Jason protested, but he was cut off again by Zeus.

"Honestly, a son of Hades? I taught you to have better taste than _that,_" Zeus scolded.

"Dad, it's not a big deal that I like… wait what?"

"A son of _Hades_? Honestly, it's like you not even my son," Zeus teased, "Why, what did you think I meant?"

"I thought the problem was that I was dating a boy," Jason muttered. Meanwhile Nico had let out a huge sigh of relief.

"You thought _I_ had a problem with you dating a boy?!" Zeus roared with laughter at the mere notion.

"I _myself_ have been known to play for the other team- hell you're sister's practically in a lesbian cult!"

Thalia who had been quiet up until this point tried to defend herself, "You get caught fraternizing with another hunter _one time…"_Jason howled in laughter.

This had gone much better than he thought.

**Reviews are love, requests are open!**


	22. Lawyer at Large

**So I really got into this prompt of Lawyer!Jason/Client!Mob boss!Nico requested by yuMeNami. Sorry for such the long wait for an update actually written by me, but this is almost 3000 words so I think it's worth it. Also, smut! Requests are open!**

If he didn't win this case, Jason was pretty sure he was going to get shot. Probably on his way back home, he'd get stopped by someone who worked for di Angelo and have a gun pressed to his temple. The headlines for the next morning would be, "_Lawyer in di Angelo case found dead in alley_" or something and di Angelo would get away with another murder.

At this point, it was almost certain that would happen.

The case, as of now, was not going well. There was plenty of evidence against Miss Levesque that she could've killed this Octavian fellow (but from what Jason knew of him, he couldn't exactly blame her) and even if she wouldn't go to jail on first degree, it wouldn't be hard for the jury to convict her of second degree manslaughter. Miss Levesque had connections to the mob, to _di Angelo_, and that would be her (and Jason's) downfall.

Jason had asked to judge to call for a recess.

It was hot in the courtroom, because, like most courtrooms, the windows were sealed tightly and the air conditioning probably hadn't worked properly since 1995. With the Levesque-di Angelo case hands down being the case of the year, the courtroom was packed with people; which was the last thing Jason needed right now: a whole room full of people to see him fail.

He'd be New York's very own Atticus Finch.

Collapsing back into his chair behind the defendant's table, Jason pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes. Miss Levesque sat next to him, looking for all the world unperturbed that she was being charged with murder. For God's sake, she wasn't even sweating.

Jason closed his eyes and counted to ten.

At 8, Jason realized there was a hand now placed on his shoulder, and the owner of said hand not Miss Levesque, but Nico di Angelo himself.

For a crime lord, Nico di Angelo was at first unintimidating. He was maybe a little taller than five and a half feet, barely coming up to Jason's shoulder. He had dark hair and even darker eyes that could carry a blistering intensity when they needed to. di Angelo was always sharply dressed, and was usually shouting into his cell phone the few times Jason had been in the same room as him.

Right now, di Angelo looked every bit liked concerned friend and not a bit like disgusted crime lord. He had a coy look on his face that started an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of Jason's stomach. "Is my lawyer all right, Mr. Grace?"

Jason immediately straightened, "Ah, well, Mr. di Angelo—"

"Walk with me, Jason." It was not a request.

Jason looked helplessly to the judge, who was busy with the security guard, probably about the number of suspicious vehicles outside that held di Angelo's men, lest something went wrong. Like the entire case.

"A-all right, Mr. di Angelo."

He followed di Angelo out of the courtroom and outside to the back alley behind the courthouse. di Angelo knew to know exactly where he was going, which started the uncomfortable feeling in his stomach again, ten-fold. This was it, this was when Nico would pull out a pistol from within his expertly tailored suit and place a bullet between Jason's eyes. There was no point in screaming for help as the back door swung shut behind them.

Instead of a pistol, though, di Angelo pulled out a carton of cigarettes; Jason tried not to make it obvious when he breathed a sigh of relief.

"You smoke?" di Angelo said, offering the carton to Jason after he took a cancer stick of his own.

"Um, no, no thank you." Jason said. di Angelo shrugged and lit up.

"So," di Angelo said between drags, "tell me, Jason. Can I call you Jason?"

"If you want." Jason said. Better than calling him a dead man.

"Great. How do you think this case is going for us?" Nico said. He was looking at Jason from the corner of his eyes, looking perfectly at ease while Jason was stiffer than a board.

"Well, I wouldn't say it's going..._superbly_. There's quite a bit of evidence-"

"Against us, yes, I know." Nico flicked some ash of the end of his cigarette before taking another drag. "What will it take? Money, drugs?"

Jason took an involuntary step back. "What do you mean, what will it take?"

di Angelo looked at him as though he were stupid, "What will it take for you to accept some evidence that might win us this case?"

...now thinking about it, he would've preferred the bullet. He spluttered, trying to come up with something to say. "I couldn't possibly do that, the system doesn't work that way. I..."

He trailed off now that di Angelo had put his cigarette out by firmly smashing it between the concrete of the alley and the heel of the very expensive Italian loafer on his foot. Luckily for Jason, he didn't look angry or even upset. Had he expected Jason to say no? Then again, di Angelo had always struck him as the kind of person that had an answer for everything. Either way, di Angelo was smirking, "Does it look like a give a fuck about how the system works? I got a couple alibi lined up, ready to get Hazel off the hook, all you gotta do is call them to the stand."

Jason sucked in a breath, "Mr. di Angelo—"

"Call me Nico."

"Ok. Nico. I couldn't call them to the stand because if we're found out,_ I_ could go to jail and lose my license and _you_ could go to jail with no lawyer willing to defend you." Jason said, trying to stand his ground. Still, di A—Nico didn't look convinced. The raised eyebrow-smirk look hadn't left his face and before Jason could brace himself, he had been slammed up against the back wall of the courthouse.

Nico was incredibly strong for someone a whole head shorter. Or maybe Jason just really needed to start going back to the gym.

The crime lord's breath smelled like the cigarette he'd just smoked and Jason could smell the expensive cologne on him. Nico had to go up onto tiptoe to whisper into Jason's ear, "See, Jason, that's the thing. No one will ever find out, because this will only be between me and you, and you won't tell anyone, will you?

"Whatever you want, you'll have it." Nico continued, "And maybe you'll let me take what I want."

"Miss Levesque's freedom?" Jason said, voice sounding an octave or two too high to even himself.

Nico laughed, genuinely amused like Jason was an act at the circus, "Not quite, Jason."

The way in which Nico kissed him seemed to fit the shorter man perfectly, Jason thought as Nico's lips covered his own. It was harsh, dominant, with lots of teeth and tongue that made Jason breathless. Nico's hand had come up to tangle in the hair towards the nape of Jason's neck, and before Jason could stop himself, he was pressing Nico flush against him.

Eventually they separated, Jason watching Nico with blown pupils. He looked wolfish to Jason, his smile showing sharp canines and a predatory knowledge. Nico had Jason right where he wanted, in a position where Jason could hardly say no. The rest of the deal went unspoken, but Jason could figure out the rest: he either took the alibi Nico provided and got more where that kiss came from, or Nico would make _The Godfather_ look like a Disney movie.

"Ok." Jason said, all though he still wasn't sure what he was getting into.

"I knew you'd see things my way." Nico smiled, "Now, I think our recess is just about up."

…

The case would continue tomorrow, with Nico's alibis, Frank Zhang and Leo Valdez. Meanwhile, Jason was tired, his feet hurt, and he wanted to go home and maybe take a bath. No more crime lords for a while.

But Nico had other ideas. One of Nico's men caught up with Jason after he had left the courtroom and escorted him to a sleek black car without a word. As he slid in, Jason was greeted with the sight of Nico di Angelo, tie off, shirt unbuttoned inappropriately low and belt hanging off his hips, undone.

The car was really much too hot.

"You...should really have your seatbelt on." Jason breathed as Nico settled himself heavily on his lap. The car started forward smoothly, but it wasn't exactly the most prominent thing on Jason's mind. Nico's lips were hot against his neck, hands coming up to unknot his tie and slip his suit jacket over his shoulders.

"Then you'll just have to give me something to hold onto." Nico said huskily, rolling his hips against Jason's. The taller of the two bit his lip to bite back a moan. As Nico's hands traveled down to the front of Jason's pants, Jason came back to himself long enough to grab one of Nico's wrists and say, "I'm not having sex with you in your car."

"Charon's seen me in more compromising positions." Nico said, referring to the driver.

"I'd still rather have a bed."

"Fine." Nico said, obviously annoyed. Still, he moved his hands back to more comfortable territory, back to Jason's shoulders, and continued to kiss him. Every once and a while, Nico would punctuate a certain twist of his tongue with a roll of his hips and Jason had to suck in a breath to calm himself down.

As the car rolled to a stop, it took a second for it to click with Jason that they were at his Brooklyn townhouse, and that Nico and Nico's driver knew exactly where he lived. It also didn't seem to bother Nico that he had a key to Jason's Brooklyn townhouse, and he knew exactly where the master bedroom was as he dragged Jason through the house.

"How do you—"

"Why you are still clothed is the better question." Nico said, pushing Jason back onto the bed. Jason bounced once and kicked his shoes and socks off, going to unbutton his shirt the rest of the way, only to be stopped by Nico, who insisted on finished the job himself.

"You know, I've been waiting to rip this suit off of you and let you have your way with me since the day I met you? I guess good things come to those who wait." Nico said. He leaned down to kiss Jason, straddling Jason's hips once again to get closer. All Jason could think to do was to help get Nico undressed, and agree wholeheartedly that this was a very good thing to be happening.

Nico was beautiful under his suit and button down. His skin was a rich olive, chest and ribs and stomach expanding and contracting with each heavy breath. The skin was marred by scars and a couple of bullet scars, but Jason suspected they came with Nico's line of work. His pants had been kicked off at some point in the wild race to undress, Jason stopping briefly to appreciate the view Nico gave him in just a pair of boxers. Silk, of course.

Soon, Jason found himself being pushed back into the bed (again), flat on his back as Nico kissed down his chest and the trail of hair that disappeared into Jason's boxer-briefs. With one more predatory smirk, Nico took the liberty of pushing his underwear off.

Nico looked at him, still smiling, "A successful lawyer, sexy as hell, and well endowed? How is this fair again?"

"Oh come on, give yourself some-ahn." Jason lost his train of thought as Nico took it upon himself to lick a stripe up the underside of Jason's cock. As Nico took all of him into his mouth, Jason stopped trying to hold back the noises Nico was making him make.

"_Jesus Christ._" Jason breathed. Nico chuckled around him, which caused Jason's toes to curl. The crime lord pulled off him to say, "I didn't know you where religious."

"I thought everyone was during sex."

Nico laughed again, "Fair enough. Now, lube, condom?"

Jason motioned to the bedside table drawer, coming to prop himself up on his elbows and Nico reached over him to dig around to find what he was looking for. "Ok, so you know where I live and you know where I sleep, but you don't know where I keep the lube and condoms?"

Nico shrugged, "Can't all be perfect, can we?" He shoved what he found into Jason's hand, "I'm guessing you know what to do with these?"

Jason frowned, "I thought...Are you sure?"

Rolling his eyes, Nico said, "Keep up, Grace. Did you not understand of what I said earlier when I'd been waiting for forever for you to fuck me?"

"Well I was a little distracted," Jason said, flipping their positions so he could stretch Nico. Jason popped the lube cap and spread it onto his fingers, rubbing it between his palms to try and warm it up. Nico sucked in a breath as the first finger was worked into him.

Jason allowed himself to nip and kiss Nico's neck and chest. He was warm and tight and the breathy moans that he kept making whenever Jason crooked his finger went straight to Jason's cock.

"Add another." Nico said after he began to loosen up.

"So demanding." Jason said, but did as he was told.

"So compli-ant!" Nico's speech hiccuped as Jason hit his prostate particularly hard. Soon enough, a third finger was added and with the irritated, "I'm not going to break, Jason," Jason pulled his fingers out and rolled the condom on.

Jason was not expecting to be flipped onto his back again. He didn't completely mind though, as he now got a view of Nico di Angelo looking completely wrecked. His dark hair was sticking to his forehead and it was hard to see where his pupils ended and his dark irises began. Without warning to what he was doing (though Jason was quick to put two and two together) Nico began to lower himself onto Jason's cock.

"Finally." Was all Nico said when he was fully seated. It took most of Jason's willpower to not buck or roll his hips before Nico was ready. It didn't take long though, for Nico to start pushing himself up and then dropping back down. They two of them moaned after the first thrust.

"Good?" Jason didn't know why he was asking.

"Very good." Nico confirmed. They built up pace after that, Nico rolling and lifting his hips in time with Jason's thrusts. Jason was positive there were going to be Nico's-hands-sized bruises on his hips tomorrow, and vice versa for his partner. Nico's grip tightened with a single word, "Close."

"Me too."

One of Jason's hands came up to stroke Nico as best he could in time with the thrusts, but they were both so far gone it was hard. Without much warning other that the exclamation of his name, Jason felt Nico come with a groan. As the tight heat contracted around his cock, he followed right after Nico.

Nico bent over Jason's chest, his own chest heaving as he tried to collect himself. With nothing to add to the moment, Nico lifted himself off of Jason's cock, removed the condom and tied it off before pitching in the general direction of the waste bin. Jason sloppily grabbed for a few tissues, cleaning Nico and himself up.

Before long, Nico was comfortably being spooned by Jason, something that hadn't happened with someone he'd slept with in a very long time. Jason's hand came to rest on Nico's stomach, idly tracing one of the bullet scars in found there.

"We can do that again, right?"

"I think I could stick around for a Round 2. I might even keep you around for a while." Nico said. He could feel Jason's smile into the back of his neck. "Ok," Jason said sleepily.

Nico rested his own hand on top of Jason's, curling closer to him before falling asleep as well. Charon would wake him up if he really needed to be somewhere.

But hopefully for everyone's sake, he wasn't needed.

**Reviews are love, requests are open!**


	23. Sweater Weather

**I hope you all enjoyed the smut in the last update. This is for an anonymous request for Nico to go sweater shopping and Jason being unhelpful. Also, Nico di Angelo in big sweaters gives me life. So. Requests are open!**

"I'm going to run to the mall, Jason. Do you need anything?" I ask. He's lounging on the couch, un-Jason like, watching Star Wars, but his head immediately perks up when I ask.

"Why are you going to the mall? I thought it was like, everything you hate: people, crowds, shopping, sales clerks." Jason oh-so-helpfully lists off for me. As if I had forgotten.

"Yeah, well, one of those nice sweaters Sally gave to me got a hole in the elbow and it's not like I know how to darn, so I'm going to the mall to buy a new one. Do you need anything or not?" I say. I lean over the back of the sofa, Jason looking up at me.

"Would you mind horribly if I tag along?" Jason asks, putting a hand on the back of my neck to be able to pull me down and kiss me.

I sigh, as though it's painful for me to admit, "If you must."

He grins and follows me out the front door of our apartment.

* * *

Jason's right. I hate the mall. It's loud and noisy and I'm always getting pushed because I'm so damn short. Luckily, Jason holds tightly to me, an arm wrapped around my waist as we walk through the mall corridors to American Eagle.

I feel like such a fucking prep, going to American Eagle, but during the winter they have nice sweaters and it's not like I'm shopping at Abercrombie & Fitch. A&F is disturbing to shop at anyways, since all the models look like Jason; I have yet to tell Jason this though because it would end in my constant teasing and humiliation.

The store is brightly lit and upbeat pop music is piped in through speakers hidden behind racks of clothing. Jason immediately spots a few tables of winter sweaters setup for the season, placed conveniently next to button up shirts. I think Jason needs some more of these, considering the buttons pop every time is flexes a little too much. (Not that I'm complaining. A shirtless Jason equals a happy me.)

I wave him over to the button ups as I start looking through the sizes of some plain dark blue sweaters with these cool collars, looking for a small because I _am so fucking short_. I find the one I want and throw the article of clothing over my arm, but soon I'm surprised by Jason who had apparently taken it upon himself to "help" me shop. He's found these horribly ugly sweaters with moose or caribou or something weaved into their pattern and _argyle_. I'm so not an argyle person.

"I don't need help, Jay," I say as nicely as possible. Jason just grins like the piece of shit he is and kisses my forehead. I'm not a huge PDA person, but I stand the small gestures like this because they mean a lot to Jason.

"No argyle?" He asks innocently.

"And don't even try with the reindeer."

"I think they're supposed to be moose." Jason says, shrugging and looking at the sweater in his hand.

"No." I say.

He grins and says, "Get something other than blue or black then. Makes you look so drawn."

By the end of our trip I actually find something in red which Jason approves of. When we get to the checkout counter, I'm surprised to see a gray sweater in a medium, which is a size neither of us are. I raise a questioning eyebrow at Jason who smiles sheepishly.

"I like it when they fall off your shoulders." He says quietly to me. I feel the blood rise to my cheeks as he slips his hand into mine.

"Jesus." I say, trying to not give my obvious embarrassment away to the smirking cashier. Dammit, Grace. Stop being so smooth.

I shove one of our bags into his arms and turn on my heel, leaving him to follow after me.

* * *

Back home I slip quietly into our bedroom to put our purchases away. I hadn't said much to Jason after our super-fucking-gay moment back in American Eagle, but it was all part of the master plan.

Now to just slip into something a bit more comfortable…

My plan works perfectly, Jason comes in soon enough, probably going to apologize for his little display. Instead, he finds me sitting crossed legged in the middle of our bed amid our fluffy comforter and a couple of pillows in nothing but my boxer briefs and the too big sweater he'd picked out for me which was gracefully draped over one shoulder. I feel kind of ridiculous, but it's this like this that kept Jason on his toes.

"Nico—" Jason starts. His breath catches as he catches sight of me, looking up at him through my eyelashes.

"Hey." I say as nonchalantly as I can.

"Um," He says intelligently.

I make as though I'm actually trying to pull up the sleeve of the sweater, but not so high that it stays up. It dips lower than before and Jason's eyes are completely glued to me.

"Get over here, idiot," I say, reaching up to him, even though the sleeves of the sweater are too long for my arms. He staggers over and plops ungracefully onto the bed, letting me pull him into a kiss.

"You like?" I prompt. Jason nods and leans up to kiss me. His hands are soon sneaking up the front of the sweater, resting on my sides. "But," Jason protests, "it would look even better _off_."

I can't argue with that, and so I let him pull it off of me.

**Reviews are love. Requests are open!**


	24. Turn on Those Sad Songs

**This latest update is from ****Draco-Lord of Darkness****, who wanted Jason and Nico taking a semi-romantic walk in the park. And then I thought this would be a great opportunity to have a different POV. So enjoy!**

Sometimes, Sally took walks through Central Park. It was a good shortcut to take, getting out of a cab on one side the park and picking up another on the far side. Besides, it got her out of the apartment and gave her a breath of fresh air, or as fresh as you could get in such a hugely populated city.

Sally could grab a hotdog from one of the vendors as she carried groceries or took in ideas for her newest novel. Sometimes, she would people watch from an out-of-the-way park bench, watch the kids run around with their parents who had spared some time off work or the older women communing at a picnic table, feeding birds and working on their knitting.

Rarely, she saw a familiar face. In a city with eight million plus people, known for being humanely sterile, she wasn't surprised. But every so often the Fates would have their laughs.

When she first spotted them, it was five in the evening and she was coming back from doing a little grocery shopping. She didn't immediately recognized either Jason or Nico. Both of them had grown since Percy had last brought them over for supper, which wasn't something he did often anymore. Jason had filled out a bit more into his shoulders, grown out his hair a little longer. Nico looked better fed, for which Sally was grateful, and happier, considering he was smiling while hand-in-hand with the son of Jupiter.

Wait a second. Sally had to stop herself. Hand-in-hand with the son of Jupiter? Since when had Nico and Jason become an item?

Sally thought back to the last time that Percy had brought them over for a "family dinner" as it had been dubbed in a purely satirical sense for the three of them. That had been a little over six and a half months ago. And even then, Jason had seemed a little closer to Nico than what could be seen as purely platonic.

Now though, in the brisk October twilight, the two seemed completely involved with one another as they meandered through the park. Nico's hand was grasped firmly in Jason's as they sipped their respective Starbucks drinks. Nico, who was still pretty petit, seemed ever so content to rest his head against Jason's arm, to which the blond responded by kissing Nico's head.

The sight of the two boys with small, secret smiles on their face as they walked towards Sally made a tightness in her chest relax that she didn't know she had had. Nico had worried her for a long time; ever distant, always hanging around with a crowd he didn't fit into. It never seemed like he had time for human activities, such as sleeping and eating and bathing. And now, in the arms of Jason Grace, he finally seemed like he had a _home_.

Sally felt her eyes grow wet at the thought of them all growing up. They were heroes now, full of their own experiences and not just the potential Sally had always seen them with.

Unsurprisingly, it was Nico who spotted her. "Aunt Sally?" Nico called from a little further down the walking path. Sally smiled brightly at her nephews (nephews? Gods didn't have DNA, but sure, nephews) and waved. Nico detached himself from Jason to run the rest of the way to meet Sally.

Soon, she had 130 pounds of smiling, happy Nico di Angelo in her arms, who had yes, _definitely_ grown since the last time she had hugged him. He wasn't all bones when he hugged her either, and let Sally squeeze him tightly to her. "How're you?" She asked, still hugging him.

"Good," Nico said, pulling back and allowing Sally to kiss his forehead.

"Very good?" Sally asked with a smirk as she nodded her head towards Jason who was standing just a few paces away, quietly awaiting his turn for a hug.

Nico coughed and turned red, making Sally laugh and Jason break out into a wide grin.

"You could say that." Jason answered, swooping in to get a hug from the woman. Sally had to go up onto her tip toes to now properly hug Jason and that was a very dissatisfying fact.

"Well," Sally said brightly when she released Jason, "It's about damn time!"

Nico made a disbelieving sound as Jason threw his head back, laughing. "You," Nico said, still trying to put a comprehensible string of words together in his obvious state of shock, "you are incredible."

"Well I have to try and stay a step ahead of you boys." Sally said, still smiling, "Now my son has not even _mentioned_ anything in the slightest about you two dating. Does he know or do I have to berate him for not keeping me in the loop?"

Jason grinned, "Looks like we'll have to tell him to write you more."

"Hell yeah, you will." Sally said with new determination. "My gods, that boy. What's the word, Annabeth used? Horribly obtuse, I think?"

"Sounds like Percy," Nico said.

"But enough about me and my son," Sally said, "Unless you already have plans, Paul is in Newark visiting his mother so right now it's just me in the apartment, so would you two like to join me for dinner?"

Nico and Jason shared a look, both breaking out into renewed smiles. "Sure," they said together.

With that, Jason took the bag of groceries where it had been placed at Sally's feet when she was giving out hugs. "Thank you, dear." Sally said, when Jason gave her a bashful smile. Now arm-in-arm with Nico, who was hand-in-hand with Jason, Sally smiled to herself. Her cobbled little family had found their way back to her at last, safe and happy. It was the least they all deserved.

**Sap. Reviews are love. Requests are open!**


	25. Guest Author 2

**Princess Of The Moon 87**** is a fucking saint for writing this for me. This is for ****CreCra****'s wanted prompt of Jasico pre-slash where Nico and Jason are caught in the woods in a storm and have to seek shelter. Enjoy!**

From behind a tree, I peered at the campfire. Nearly everyone sat around the roaring golden flames, Percy with Annabeth, Hazel and Frank, even Jason was there. Jason and his stupid broad shoulders, his tousled blond hair. How rude.

I stalked off into the woods before anyone noticed me, stepping over fallen tree branches and thorny bushes with a purpose: to put as much distance between me and that campfire as possible. Campfires included too many things I hated, all put together.

For example, the main part, fire. Too warm, too bright. S'mores? I'd rather roast my eyeballs over the fire for a few hours, thanks. I'd prefer to listen to Apollo's hideous attempts at poetry than the songs his children came up with.

I batted tree branches out of my way, trying to find even a hint of the trail. The trail wasn't really a trail, in that it hadn't been planned by anyone. It was just the easiest way through the forest, and so many demigods had found and used it that the plants had been trampled or slashed to pieces. Now the little dirt path was worn with footprints, and would take you through the heart of the forest. When I found it, I walked down it for long enough that I couldn't hear the god awful singing anymore and then turned left away from the trail, trekking out on my own.

I did not prefer the ease of the trail. With nothing to do but follow a set path, I had plenty of time to think. The trail was ideal when trying to make a quick getaway from something, be it a monster or a sing-a-long, but when I was just trying to waste time and not think about things, it was better to have to worry about tripping over branches or being eaten by plant-dwelling beasts.

One particular branch got on my nerves once, after I smacked it away from my face, it grabbed my hair. So I unsheathed my sword and with a swish, there went the tree's only left branch. Sucks for you, tree, I thought.

"What'd the poor tree do to you, di Angelo?" I whirled, my sword up, and Jason Grace stepped out from behind a tree, the golden light of his sword making him glow.

"What are you doing? Did you follow me?"

"Maybe," he said. "What are _you _doing out here?"

"Trying to be alone," I snapped pointedly. "I don't like people, if you haven't noticed."

"You are so antisocial that it's almost unhealthy." Jason fell into step beside me as I continued through the woods. A light breeze rustled the leaves, lifting my hair off my forehead. I shot a sideways glance at Jason as I smoothed it back down. "Don't look at me; that one's all on Pops. Must be a little testy tonight."

A clap of thunder boomed overhead, shaking the trees as lightning illuminated the sky above. My hair stood on end until it went dark and quiet again. I hated thunderstorms. The night was my favorite time, dark and quiet just how I liked it. Thunderstorms always screwed that up.

"Or fucking pissed," I muttered as it thundered again.

Jason said nothing, and when I looked at him his face was turned to the sky, eyes closed. "It's going to rain," he breathed. And just as he said it, a fat drop of rain landed with a plop on the end of my nose. "We should find shelter."

"Shelter? What shelter is there in the woods? Do you and Percy have a secret tree house?"

Jason just stared at me. "Yeah, we go up there late at night to braid each other's hair and talk about boys. No, jackass," he punctuated this by smacking me upside the head, "but there is a cave somewhere in here."

"A cave? How do you know there's a cave?" Jason Grace, with all his blond, well-muscled heroism, did not seem like the type to go spelunking alone in the woods.

"You're not the only one who likes to be alone sometimes, Nico," he said softly, and then continued past me.

Part of me wanted to ask what exactly Jason meant by that, but the other part wanted to push him face first into the quickly muddying dirty as he let go of a branch that smacked me squarely in the face.

We walked in silence, our shoes occasionally squelching in the mud. The rain was falling in sheets now, my hair plastered across my forehead, and I tried not to think about Jason's wet shirt clinging to his body as he started to run.

I followed because, really, what other choice did I have? He took an abrupt left turn and I almost stepped into a puddle that was most like a considerable amount deeper than it looked, but a moment later I had no puddles, or anything else, to worry about because the rain had stopped.

Well, not really. It still rained, drumming against the stone of the cave, making a hollow noise that echoed through the cave and made me want to curl up in a ball and go right to sleep. That was the only thing thunderstorms were good for, sleeping.

"You're soaked," Jason said, shaking his head like a dog, flinging water all over the place.

"No, really?" I muttered, yanking my shirt over my head and wringing it out. When I saw Jason staring at me out of the corner of my eye I tried not to smirk, and threw my shirt at him.

He spluttered as my black shirt (I would not wear that orange camp shirt if you paid me a million bucks) hit him in the chest with a wet smack. "Thanks a lot," he said drily, and I gave him my most winning grin, before spreading myself out on the floor. "What are you doing?"

"Taking a nap."

"Why?" Jason loomed over me, his big dumb blue eyes staring down at me.

"I know we have so many other things to do," I began sarcastically, "but I'm a little tired after trying to keep up with you." He was much taller than me, his strides much longer.

He just sighed, and though my eyes were closed, I heard him walk away and sit down, back against the wall of the cave. It remained quiet for a while, and I was actually nearing sleep when I heard, "You're so boring."

"Blow me, Grace," I spat.

"Okay." I jerked up off the cave floor, and he winked at me. "Time and place, di Angelo. Though as you pointed out, we don't have much to do now."

He was right, we didn't have much to do, but I would not do anything like that, not with Jason Grace. However hot he may be in his wet t-shirt, I would not. Nope. I lowered myself back to the cave floor and forced my eyes shut.

"Nico," he sang, this time from somewhere closer to me. I ignored him, with great difficulty. Until he settled himself on the ground beside me, that is. Then I opened one eye.

The Son of Jupiter had discarded his own shirt by now, and he sat only a few inches from me, staring shamelessly at me. "What do you want?" I asked cautiously, sitting up slowly.

Big mistake. Jason wrapped his hand around the back of my neck and pulled my face against his urgently, though his lips touched mine softly. I faltered briefly, but once I relaxed my hands settled on his thighs, and I didn't even mind that his jeans were wet.

When he sat back, both of us out of breath, he grinned. "That. That's all I wanted."

I pushed a piece of his stupid blond hair out of his face, and then I laced my arms around his neck to pull him back down to me. As my tongue twisted in his mouth, Jason fumbled with my belt buckle. And then, just like that, he stopped.

"What?" I asked. "What's wrong?"

He left his hands where they were, looking out the mouth of the cave. "Shh. Listen."

I paused, taking the opportunity to stare at Jason in silence. His hair was a mess, his eyes wide, his face red. But I didn't hear anything. "What am I listening to?"

"Nothing, exactly. It stopped raining." He smiled and then stood, gathering our shirts.

"What-what are you doing?"

"Well if I had a choice, I'd rather have sex in a bed than a cave wouldn't you?"

I considered this for a minute, and while at the moment I had no objections to a nice cave floor, I finally decided I agreed with Jason and let him pull me to my feet.

Soon we were running through the woods again, this time hand in hand, and when we returned to camp we shut ourselves in my cabin so that no one would bother us. Hopefully.

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